


Behind the Mask

by starlitpurple



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers in Space
Genre: Adventure, Drama, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-05-20
Updated: 2010-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-12 07:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 37,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlitpurple/pseuds/starlitpurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Astro Rangers and their "new friend" meet a mysterious new enemy. Will they be able to pull together and defeat this new enemy, or will they be defeated themselves? Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, and hints of Cassie/Phantom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wanting A Normal Life

Behind The Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 1: Wanting A Normal Life

"I'm never gonna get the hang of this," Ashley said in frustration. She was staring at the rotating ball floating in front of her.

"You'll get it, it just takes time and a lot of practice. It took me years to perfect." Andros replied with a smile. "Come on, try again, I'll help you." He walked over behind her and put his hand on her outstretched arm.

Ashley closed her eyes and focused all her concentration on the telekinesis ball. When she opened them again, she saw that the ball was no longer in front of her but halfway across the room. "Did I do that?" she asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"That was all you, I only guided your hand." Andros told her.

"Really... I really did it?" She turned around to look at Andros. He grinned and nodded. "I told ya you'd get it." Ashley laughed and jumped into Andros' arms.

"Um...are we interrupting something?" Zhane asked.

Ashley and Andros broke apart quickly to see Zhane standing in the doorway of the work bay. T.J., Carlos, and Cassie standing behind him with amused looks on their faces.

"No, we're just finishing up." Ashley replied while grabbing the telekinesis ball out of the air.

"You're blushing Andros." Cassie said.

"Did you guys want something?" Andros asked when Ashley giggled.

"Yeah, we came to see if you guys were hungry." T.J. replied. "We're going down to Earth to get something to eat, wanna come?"

"I know I do, I'm starving." Ashley said.

Andros glanced over at Ashley. "Yeah, telekinesis takes a lot out of you, especially when you're first learning how to control it."

"What about you Andros, you want to go eat?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah." Andros replied.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go, I'm hungry!" Zhane said as he teleported out in silver sparkles. Laughing, the others followed, teleporting in their own respective colors. They landed in Angel Grove Park in an abandoned area.

"So, where are we eating?" Ashley asked.

"We haven't been to Adelle's in a while, how 'bout we go there?" T.J. said glancing around at everyone.

"Sounds good to me." Cassie replied. "Lead the way."

"I don't care _where_ we go, I just know I'm hungry!" Zhane said as he took off running.

"Hey, where are you going?" Carlos called.

"I'll see you guys when you get there."

"I guess he'll be leading the way then." Cassie laughed following in the direction Zhane went.

 **On the Dark Fortress...**

Astronema stood watching the rangers on the viewing screen. She envied their friendship and their closeness with one another. She had never had a real friend, someone who she could truly trust in. She didn't trust anyone, except Ecliptor. He was the only one who cared about her, but he felt more like a father to her than a friend.

She watched as the silver ranger took off from the rest of the group. ' _I wonder what he's up to now._ 'she thought. She had been watching the silver ranger closely ever since he'd shown up a few weeks ago. ' _I'll just go down and see for myself._ '

In one swift motion of her arm, she turned into her human self, a teenage girl with shoulder-length blond hair. With another swift motion, she disappeared in a shower of purple sparkles.

 **On Earth...**

Astronema appeared in the alley behind Adelle's place. She decided to go to the front of the building to watch for the silver ranger. She barely reached the main entrance when someone ran smack into her, knocking her down.

"I'm so sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." Astronema looked up to see the silver ranger bending down to help her up. She took his proffered hand and stood up.

"Thanks." she replied, brushing herself off.

"Hey, my name's Zhane by the way."

"Ast...Astra." She barely caught herself. ' _I have to be more careful._ '

"How about I buy you lunch to make up for knocking you over? My friends and I wouldn't mind you joining us." Zhane said.

"Um...I..."

"Hey Zhane." a girl clad in yellow called from behind her. "I figured you'd already be eating by the way you took off."

"I would have been but I ran into someone...literally." he replied looking at Astra. "I'd like you guys to meet Astra. Astra, these are my friends, Ashley, T.J., Andros, Carlos, and Cassie." He pointed to each of his friends in turn as he said their name. "I invited Astra to eat lunch with us, I hope that's ok."

"Well of course it's ok." Ashley told Zhane, then, looking at Astra, she asked, "So Astra, have you ever eaten at Adelle's before?"

' _What have I gotten myself into_?' She shook her head "No."

"You're gonna love it, Adelle makes great food." Cassie replied with a smile. She walked over and put her hand on Astra's arm. "Come on, let's go on in."

' _Is this what friendship feels like?_ ' Astra thought to herself. It felt good just to sit here and talk to people who were her own age and be carefree. This was something she had longed for since she had been kidnapped. She barely remembered the life she left behind when she was taken from KO-35. It had been so long ago... And the red ranger seemed so familiar to her, but she didn't know why. Even his name was familiar...Andros...she knew that name from somewhere. If only she could remember where.

"Astra" a voice interrupted her thoughts. "Astra, are you ok? You kinda zoned out there." It was Zhane, he was frowning at her. ' _Is that concern_?' she silently questioned. He seemed so sweet and she couldn't help the feeling that she got knowing that he cared about her. ' _But he's on the opposite_ side', her mind argued. "Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Once they finished eating, the rangers and Astra sat there talking. ' _It's amazing how normal they are. No one would ever guess that they're rangers...unless they already knew._ ' Astra grinned at the thought.

"Hey, do you guys want to go to the park, it's too nice outside to stay indoors." Carlos said.

"Sure." Zhane said. They got up and headed outside.

 **On another ship orbiting Earth...**

A dark figure stood in front of a viewing screen. It watched as the rangers and their friend exited the restaurant.

"Ah, you finally came out rangers, now I can have my revenge!"


	2. A New Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, but the mysterious 'dark figure' is mine. Hehe, I'm not revealing who it is just yet, but you'll find out in this chapter.

  
**Chapter 2: A New Enemy**   


**On another ship orbiting Earth...**

A dark figure stood in front of a viewing screen. It watched as the rangers and their friend exited the restaurant.

"Ah, you finally came out rangers, now I can have my revenge!"

 **On Earth...**

The rangers and their new friend, Astra, walked out of the restaurant and headed for the park.

T.J. walked up beside Astra. "So, are you from around here? I haven't seen you at school."

"I'm home schooled." She replied. Well it _was_ true, she didn't go to school, everything she knew she had learned on the Dark Fortress, either from Ecliptor or for her sheer survival alone.

The rangers hadn't bothered her much during their lunch. Every now and then one of them would say something to her, to include her in the conversation. She was glad that they didn't ask too many questions, she enjoyed just watching them. That was why she had gone down there, wasn't it? To spy on them and see if she could find any weaknesses? She hadn't expected to be invited to eat with them though. It surprised her how the rangers had so blindly accepted her without knowing a single thing about her. Maybe they weren't so bad after all...

"Look out!" she heard as she was being knocked to the ground for the second time that day. A blast narrowly missed her head, hitting a tree behind her. ' _I specifically told Ecliptor not to send any monsters until I give the word._ ' she thought. Andros had knocked her out of harm's way and was now helping her up while the other rangers fell into a fighting stance in front of them.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded and looked up to see who had fired at them. A hooded figure stood in front of them, it's weapon still trained on them. "Stay behind us, we'll protect you." he said as he turned to face their new enemy.

"Who are you?" Astra heard Andros ask. She wanted to know who it was too. It definitely wasn't one of _her_ monsters. In fact, she wasn't even sure this was a monster at all, it was hard to tell with the cloak.

It turned it's cloaked head toward Andros. "You will know soon enough, _red ranger_!" Came a menacing voice.

' _Red ranger? No one on Earth knows who the rangers are, they keep it a secret. So this has to be someone from a different planet...but who?_ ' Astra thought. She didn't recognize the voice and it kinda scared her. She knew almost every evil monarch there was, but this being didn't sound like any of them. She wished she had her staff, she didn't like being powerless. Of course, she _could_ make it materialize into her hand, but then she'd have to reveal herself, not only to the rangers but the cloaked figure as well, and she wasn't quite ready for _any_ of them to find out yet.

Astra saw the rangers exchange looks before Andros demanded, "What do you want?" She knew he was trying to avoid acknowledging what the figure had just said and, just like she wouldn't turn into Astronema in front of them, she knew that they wouldn't morph in front of her. But there was no way that she could get away now. The rangers were standing in a half circle in front of her, facing their enemy, and there was a large tree behind her.

The cloak shook a little as the figure laughed. "My revenge." Came the answer as the figure charged at them.

Astra watched as the rangers immediately launched into battle with this new enemy. She had to admit, whoever he was, he was really good, the rangers could barely get a hit on him. He was fast, really fast, and he was winning. Even _she_ couldn't defeat all 6 rangers single-handedly. They were trying to stay in front of her, but he was slowly breaking through their line of defense. She knew she was going to have to fight if their enemy didn't slow down soon, and it didn't look like he was going to.

She jumped out of the way when Zhane flew backward, his head hitting the tree. "Zhane!" Astra yelled. The blow to his head had knocked him unconscious. She started to go over to him but stopped when the mysterious figure ran straight at her, coming through the hole that Zhane made when he fell. She instantly threw up her arm to block the attack, her instincts taking over. She tried to kick him in return but he was too fast for her, he grabbed her foot in midair and knocked the other out from under her. She quickly got up while he was fending off the rangers.

She glanced around and saw that T.J. and Cassie were seeing about Zhane. She knew he would be alright with them so she turned her attention back to the battle. It had shifted away from the tree and the three rangers left fighting the still-cloaked figure were getting beaten pretty badly. She ran over to help them.

"Stay back Astra." Carlos told her. He had just been thrown to the ground by a particularly hard blow to the chest.

Ignoring his warning, Astra charged at the enemy. He pushed Andros and Ashley out of his way and faced her. This time she was ready for him and matched him, move for move. She finally, with the help of the other rangers, knocked him to the ground.

He quickly got up, but he didn't immediately engage them in battle again. For a few seconds he just stood there, staring at her. Shocked, she stayed where she was too, staring right back. Then, finally, he said "Who _are_ you?"

"That's what they asked _you_ , remember?" Astra replied. Andros, Ashley, and Carlos stood beside her, the others still having not come back. They were throwing her curious looks, but kept an eye on the figure in front of them. They were also surprised by the abrupt pause in the fight and stayed where they were.

"Very few warriors have ever been able to match me move for move and you were doing pretty well." The hooded figure stated. "So, who are you?"

"Why don't you tell me who _you_ are?" Astra replied. "Then, _maybe,_ I'll tell you who I am." She knew even then that she wasn't going to reveal her identity, but she really wanted to know who this mysterious stranger was.

He slowly pulled the hood of his cloak down to reveal a masked face. Instantly she knew who it was.

"Shade..." Astra said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Ah, so you've heard of me, now who are you?" He asked staring at her intently.

She grinned, "I said _maybe_ I'd tell you who I was, not that I would." She told him.

Glaring at her, he reached into his cloak and pulled out some sort of device. Before they could react, he pointed it at them and all Astra knew after that was darkness.


	3. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, but Shade and his ship are mine.

Chapter 3: Captured

Andros awoke with a pounding headache. ' _Where am I?_ ' he wondered. He sat up and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a dimly lit small room with a cold hard floor. There were bars making up two sides of the of the room. ' _A cell..._ ' he thought. He looked down at his wrist and found that it was bare. ' _Great, he took my morpher!_ ' Then he noticed Ashley, Carlos, and Astra laying unconscious nearby.

"Ashley!" he called as he ran over to her. She had a large gash on her arm that she obtained from the fight. She didn't move as he checked to see if she was breathing. She was still breathing so he checked the others. They were both ok, but Carlos looked like he had a broken rib. He went over and sat back down with his back against the wall.

His mind went back to the battle.

 **(Flashback)**

" **Why don't you tell me who _you_ are?" Astra replied. "Then, _maybe,_ I'll tell you who I am."**

 **Andros watched as the figure slowly pulled the hood of his cloak down to reveal a masked face.**

" **Shade..." Astra said in an almost inaudible whisper.**

 **(End Flashback)**

' _'Shade' Astra had called him, but who_ was _he?_ ' Andros racked his brain trying to remember if he knew anyone named Shade and came up with nothing. ' _But he knew I was the red ranger._ '

 **(Flashback)**

" **Who are you?" Andros asked the figure in front of them.**

 **It turned it's cloaked head toward him. "You will know soon enough, _red ranger_!" Came a menacing voice.**

 **(End Flashback)**

How did Shade know who he was? Andros didn't recognize him from anywhere. And what kind of secret was their new friend hiding? Astra had known Shade's name _and_ was the only one able to take him down.

She hadn't spoken much during their lunch and he noticed that she looked like she was in deep thought. ' _I wonder who she really is and why she's hiding it._ ' he thought. He had the feeling that he had met her before but he didn't understand why. This was the first time he'd ever seen her, he was sure of it. ' _But who is she? Can we trust her?_ '

He wondered if the others had gotten away. " _Zhane,_ " he called his friend telepathically. He had hit his head pretty hard in the fight, Andros hoped he was ok. Cassie and T.J. had taken him back to the megaship, and had not returned before Shade knocked them out. He assumed they were safe, but he was worried about Zhane. He still hadn't answered. _Zhane_ he tried again, but once again he was met with silence. ' _He must still be unconscious_.' he thought. He could still feel Zhane's presence in his mind, but it wasn't as strong as it usually was when he was awake. ' _At least I know he's alive._ '

A groan from one of the figures on the floor drew Andros out of his thoughts and he went over to check on them again. When he reached them, Carlos was sitting up, one hand on his side. He had a pained expression on his face.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Andros asked as he knelt down next to Ashley to check on her again. She was still out so he decided to let her sleep. ' _At least until we figure out a way to get out of here...wherever here is._ ' he thought.

"My chest really hurts," Carlos replied, "and I've got a headache from hell."

"Yeah, I think that was from that weird device he used on us." He told his friend. He got up from beside Ashley to go check on Astra. She was still unconscious too, but was breathing fine so he went back over to Carlos.

"You shouldn't move so much," he said as Carlos groaned again, "I think you've got a broken rib." He made Carlos lay back down so that he wouldn't make his wounds any worse, and to make sure that it was only his rib that was broke.

"Who was that guy? _Shade_... Anyone you know?" Carlos asked.

Andros stopped what he was doing and looked up, then shook his head. "I've never heard of him before, but he fights like clockwork."

"Yeah, I know. So, do you know where we are?" Carlos asked.

Andros shook his head as he finished checking over Carlos' wounds. "It's definitely broken, there's not much I can do until we get out of here." Then, without pause, he said, "I think we're on a ship of some kind."

Movement caught their eye and they both looked over to see Ashley stirring. Andros went over to her as she sat up.

"Wow, what happened?" she said holding her head. "The last thing I remember is that guy who was attacking us pulled out some kind of device, and then...nothing." She looked over at Andros with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah, it happened to all of us." Andros replied. "I think he used that device to knock us out and bring us here."

Ashley looked around. Realizing the predicament they were in she sighed. "What about the others?"

"I don't think they were back by the time he knocked us out and I haven't seen them here, so I think they're safe. I just hope they find us soon."

Ashley nodded in agreement and Andros went back to his thoughts. " _Zhane, we need you!_ " he tried again. Still he got no answer.

"What do we do about her?" Ashley said pointing at Astra. She winced as she moved her arm. "I'm fine, it's just a scratch." she told Andros seeing the look on his face.

"No your not." he replied. He took off the over shirt he'd been wearing. "Here give me your arm, it needs to be wrapped so it doesn't get infected."

She hesitated for a minute, giving him a look, then placed her arm in his hand. He started wrapping it and heard her inhale swiftly. He looked up at her face and saw that her eyes were closed.

"I'm sorry." He said softly and continued to wrap her arm.

Once he finished, Ashley looked at him and said, "So, what about Astra?"

"What do you mean?" Andros countered.

"Well, she's hiding _something_ right. I mean, she knows who this guy Shade is and she can fight him better than any of us. And we don't really know the first thing about her, other than the little she told us today, and who knows if that's even true! She's got to be hiding something." She repeated.

"She's got a point Andros." Carlos agreed from the floor. "I mean can we trust her?"

"Well, no matter what her secret is, she helped us out there. I trust her." Andros replied as he glanced at their still sleeping companion. His eyes widened when he noticed that she was not still sleeping. "Did you hear all that?" he asked her.

Ashley and Carlos looked over at her in shock.

"I heard enough." Astra said. "And Ashley's right, you don't know the first thing about me, I could be lying to you about everything."

"But you aren't, are you?" Andros asked.

"You shouldn't trust me." she replied.

Andros opened his mouth but whatever he was about to say in reply was cut off when they heard someone approaching their cell.


	4. Things Only Get Worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. It's owned by Saban, Disney, or Beuna Vista Entertainment. I don't know anymore. Shade and his ship are mine.

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 4: Things Only Get Worse

Ashley looked up as five guards approached their cell. She stood, along with Andros and Astra, as one of the guards opened the cell door.

Andros rushed forward to try and fight them but stopped when he felt a sword press against his throat. The others stopped too.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, red ranger." A sixth figure stood in the doorway. Two guards moved around and got a hold of Andros' arms.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Andros yelled at their captor. He looked around, the guard with the sword went over to contain Ashley, and another now held Astra. The last one he couldn't see but Andros knew that he was restraining Carlos.

"Why, didn't she already tell you who I was?" He said, nodding at Astra. "I am Shade." The mask he wore covered most of his face, but Andros could see his mouth, which was curled into a smile.

Andros struggled to get out of the guards' grip. "What do you want with us?" he repeated.

Ignoring him, Shade turned toward Astra. "Who are you? You are not a ranger, but you fight just as well as they do."

"I am no one to you." Astra spat as she tried to free herself. The guard just tightened his grip on her.

"But we have met before correct?" Shade asked. Astra just stared at him. "Well? Answer me!"

Astra glanced at the floor, wondering what to do. She didn't want to give too much away. Shade walked over to her and forced her to look at him. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Leave her alone," Andros yelled. "You don't want her."

Turning his attention back to the red ranger, Shade reached into his cloak and grabbed something. It was a thin silver ring. "That reminds me red ranger, I have something for you." The guards tightened their hold on Andros and forced his head forward.

Ashley watched as Shade forced the ring onto his head. "Stop it! What are you doing to him?"

Shade turned to look at her and chuckled softly. "This wonderful device will block his telepathy."

"Telepathy? You mean telekinesis?" Ashley said confused. She glanced at Andros and saw a guilty look on his face. "Andros...?"

Shade laughed again, "Well it blocks telekinesis too, but I'm more worried about his telepathy. Can't have him calling out to your friends and telling them where you are, can I?"

Ashley was shocked. Andros had never told them that he was a telepath. Although she shouldn't be that surprised, he could do telekinesis. She silently wondered if he had any other secret talents.

"I'll ask you again, what is your name?" Shade's voice brought Ashley's attention back to reality. He was once again standing in front of Astra. She just stared back at him, glaring.

"Fine!" He replied. "Bring her." He walked over and opened the cell door back up. Astra really started struggling then. The guard that was restraining Carlos went over and grabbed a hold of Astra's arm which she had freed, and they followed Shade out. The last three guards pushed their prisoners to the floor and left.

Zhane woke with a start. He had been dreaming about a fight. A fight between the rangers and a cloaked figure. All the rangers were there, but they were losing...The next thing he knew, he was being thrown through the air...and then darkness. It took a minute for it to sink in that his dream was true and he quickly sat up. He immediately regretted it though, when everything started spinning.

"Hey, you need to take it easy!" TJ said from his right side. "You've got a concussion." He helped Zhane lay back down.

"What happened? I know we were fighting someone but I don't remember defeating them." Zhane stared at TJ with a confused look as he was trying to remember.

"We didn't defeat him. A few minutes into the fight, you were knocked out. Cassie and I brought you back here and the others kept fighting. When we went back down, they were gone." TJ told him.

"Astra too?" Zhane asked.

TJ shrugged. "She wasn't there when we went back down."

"So do you think this thing got her too?" He inquired of his friend.

TJ looked at the floor and sighed "It appears that way."

Zhane struggled to sit up again but TJ gently pushed him back down. "We've gotta find them!"

"Don't worry, Cassie is on the bridge searching for them right now." TJ said. He still had his hand on Zhane's shoulder to make sure he didn't raise up again.

"Actually I'm taking a break. I got a little hungry and thought I'd come check on you guys." Cassie said from the doorway of the infirmary. She was holding a banana in her left hand. Her right hand was wrapped up in a bandage. She walked over and sat on the edge of Zhane's bed and tried to peel her banana. She let out a frustrated sigh and glared at it.

"Here" TJ said as he reached for her banana. She handed it to him and he peeled it for her. "So how's the search going?"

Cassie shook her head and took a bite of her banana. "Nothing yet. Man, whoever this is must have some really good cloaking, I can't find anything. Do you think he's one of Astronema's goons?"

TJ sighed. "Man, I don't know. He's got to be around here somewhere though, he couldn't just disappear."

"What happened to your hand Cass?" Zhane asked still trying to catch up.

Cassie looked down at her hand and replied "Same thing that happened to your head, broke it in the fight."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost a whole day." TJ replied. "Cassie and I have been switching off every few hours keeping an eye on you, while the other is on the bridge helping DECA with the search."

"Well I hope we find them soon, there's no telling what is happening to them." Cassie said.

"They'll be alright Cass, we'll find 'em." TJ said trying to convince them as well as himself. The three of them sat in silence, hoping their friends were ok...wherever they were.


	5. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: As much as I would like for them to be, the characters are not mine. Just the plot and Shade so far...

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 5: Revelations

Zhane talked TJ and Cassie into letting him go to his room to rest after their talk in the infirmary. He had always hated the beds in there, they were so uncomfortable. DECA gave him some more medication and they let him go. TJ helped him down to his room since he couldn't walk straight, let alone see straight, and made sure he sitting on his bed before he left.

Now he was laying down trying to concentrate on everything that his friends had told him. The medicine was kicking in and he knew he would be out in a couple of minutes. He reached out to his friend telepathically. " _Andros, where are you?_ _Are you guys ok?_ " He had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't sense Andros like he normally could. _'Maybe I'm just too out of it to concentrate enough.'_ he wondered. _'Or maybe they're too far away,...But I've always been able to sense him, something must be wrong...'_ he trailed off. The medication was finally taking it's toll on him and he couldn't fight the sleep that was overtaking him any longer.

Ashley groaned as she pushed herself up from the floor. When she was standing, she ran over to Andros who had pushed himself into a sitting position. "Are you ok?" He nodded and pulled at the ring on his head. She glanced over at Carlos "Carlos, you alright?"

Carlos grimaced as he sat up. He put his hand on his side. "Yeah, well no new injuries anyway." He replied leaning back against the wall.

Ashley turned her attention back to Andros. "Andros, what did he mean by telepathy? I thought you could only move things with your mind."

Andros stopped pulling at the ring and had a look of guilt on his face again. "I can, and that's called telekinesis, but Zhane and I also have a telepathic link with each other. Many people on KO-35 develop a telepathic bond with others that they are close with; family or close friends."

"So, you and Zhane can talk to each other in your minds...without anyone hearing?" Carlos inquired from across the room.

Andros looked at him. "Yeah, pretty much." Then he looked down at the floor of their cell. "I'm sorry I never told you guys. I haven't had much use for telepathy until recently when Zhane woke up a few weeks ago. He's the only one I can talk to that way anymore..."

Ashley put her hand on his arm. "It's ok." He looked up into her beautiful brown eyes and saw no blame there, only concern. "Did you get a hold of Zhane before they put that thing on you?"

Andros shook his head. "I tried, but he never answered. I think he was still unconscious. I could sense him, but it was faint, like he was sleeping."

"So they still don't know where we are?" Ashley stated.

Andros shook his head. "I'm afraid not, unless they found the ship we're on. I'm sure that this ship has really good cloaking on it, I mean we didn't detect it before we were captured and it had to be close to Earth. Either it has good cloaking or Shade has found a way to jam our sensors."

The three of them sat in silence for several minutes. Andros tried pulling at the ring on his head once more, but finally gave up when it didn't budge. Plus he was getting a massive headache from putting pressure on his head.

Finally, Carlos broke the silence. "I wonder what he's doing to Astra and if she's ok." He pondered aloud.

Almost as if it was on cue, they heard a struggle down the hall from their cell. A few minutes later they saw three guards bringing Astra back. She was still struggling to get away from them, but they had a firm hold on her. One of the guards stepped forward, unlocked and opened the cell. The other two guards walked in and threw Astra to the floor, then turned around and left, locking the door behind them.

Astra slowly got up from the floor. She looked pretty beaten up. She had a busted lip and an awful cut across her right side. She limped over to the wall and sat back down with her head propped on one of her knees. After a couple of seconds, she reached up and pulled at something on her head. Ashley realized that it was the same kind of ring that they put on Andros's head.

"Are you alright?" Ashley inquired.

"I'll be fine." Astra said still pulling at the ring.

Andros got up and went over to her. "It won't come off, I already tried. You'll only make it hurt worse." He said sitting down next to her. "What did he do to you?"

"It doesn't matter." Astra replied looking at the floor. She didn't say anything more and the rangers figured that she didn't want to think about what had just happened to her.

Changing the topic a little Carlos asked "Are you telepathic too? I mean is that why they put that ring on you?"

Astra looked over at him. "Yes, I am telepathic."

"Did he figure out who you were?" Ashley asked.

"He figured out that I'm Astra and he can sense telepaths." Astra replied.

Andros frowned at her. "What do you mean 'he figured out you're Astra', is that not who you are?"

Astra bowed her head and looked at the floor again. After a few minutes she said "I told you that you shouldn't trust me."

"But why shouldn't we trust you? You've shown us nothing but kindness and you helped us fight Shade." Andros asserted.

"I'm not...I'm not a very good person, I've done terrible things." She shook her head. "I'm not who you think I am..."

"Then who are you?" Carlos asked. Ashley had gone over to sit next to Carlos and she too looked over at Astra, wanting to know just as much as Carlos who Astra really was.

Astra looked up at Andros and the others and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and Astronema appeared where she sat.


	6. Temporary Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, except Shade.

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 6: Temporary Truce

Andros jumped back in shock, he couldn't believe that their newfound friend was one of their enemies. "Astronema!" he shouted.

"Shhh, keep it down, I'm not gonna attack you!" Astronema told him as she turned back into her human self. "I told you that Shade doesn't know who I am and I'd like to keep it that way."

Ashley had gotten up and now faced Astra with a glare on her face. "What, you didn't plan this?"

Astra rolled her eyes. "Of course I didn't! You think I'd plan to be captured and beaten up?" She replied.

"I don't know, you were with us all day. You must have been planning something. I mean, you're ASTRONEMA, why wouldn't you be planning anything?" Ashley retorted.

Astra looked up at Ashley and said in a small voice, "Please call me Astra, it won't be good if Shade finds out who I am."

The rangers could hear the desperation in her voice and were taken aback. Ashley's expression softened a little and she moved to sit down in front of Astra beside Andros, who still hadn't moved since he jumped back. Even Carlos had managed to get up and was now sitting against the wall a little closer to Astra. But not too close.

Andros had finally recovered from his shock and found his words. "So you know Shade?"

Astra let out a frustrated sigh. "Of course I do."

"Well, who is he?" Ashley asked in a friendlier tone. She was still a little unsure of whether they could trust her or not, but she decided she'd try. They were all in this together whether they liked it or not and the more they knew about Shade the faster they could figure out a way to get out of there.

"I met him about three years ago, on the planet Kelnax. I had gone to meet with one of Dark Specter's spies who supposedly had information about KO-35."

 **(Flashback)**

"Are you Astronema?" A man standing in the shadows asked. Astronema squinted to see him better, it was pretty dark out, but she could still make out most of his features by the moonlight. He looked pretty normal except for the mask he wore. It was hard to tell, but she thought he must be only a few years older than her.

Astronema proudly straightened up as she replied, "Yes I am, who are you?" This was the first assignment she had been allowed to do alone and she wasn't going to mess it up.

"Call me Shade." The figure said.

"So you have information on KO-35?" Astronema asked. She had seen Ecliptor do this several times, and had figured out that if you wanted to know something, then you had to come right out and ask for it. You never could trust the spies. Many would act like they had information, but would actually be working for the other side.

"I do, I have inside information on the rangers. What will I get in return for helping you?" He seemed as ready to get this over with as she was, but she knew she had to keep control of their conversation.

"You're not the one asking questions! What inside information do you have on the rangers?" Astronema demanded.

Shade took a step toward Astronema. "You look pretty young to be working for Dark Specter. How do I know that I can trust you with this information?" He asked.

"How dare you? I should be the one worrying if I should trust you!" She snapped and her wrath staff ominously appeared in her right hand. She had received it as a gift from Ecliptor a year before when she started her combat training. It had become her best weapon in battle.

The figure laughed, "Oh yeah, you're the new lackey in training under Ecliptor..." He started, but stopped when Astronema pointed her staff at his neck.

"I should destroy you for your comments!" she yelled.

In one swift move, he reached up, grabbed her staff and pushed it away. She had such a firm hold on it that she was thrown forward with it. When she regained her balance, she saw Shade coming toward her. He went to kick her and she dodged it, throwing her own kick. She smiled inwardly as her foot made contact, but then her glee faded a little when he didn't hardly budge . This was going to be a hard fight.

And it was, he was incredible! She could hardly get a hit on him. Everything she threw at him was blocked and she was constantly blocking him in return. They were equally matched in almost every move, even their stances were almost the same.

Their battle raged on until Ecliptor showed up. Shade looked up and saw the girl's mentor approaching and backed away from Astronema. "This isn't over!" He said as he disappeared.

"You did well, my princess, but that was foolish. You still have much to learn." Ecliptor said as he came up beside her.

 **(End Flashback)**

Astra looked up at the rangers. "Needless to say, I never found out what information he had. I haven't seen him since that night, until now."

"So he doesn't know that you are the girl he fought three years ago?" Andros asked still absorbing her story.

Astra shook her head. "I don't think so, but I think he's onto me. He didn't look too convinced when I told him I was Astra."

"So what do we do now?" Carlos inquired. "How are we going to get out of here? Three of us are injured and he took our morphers."

Astra looked up at him. "I saw your morphers when the guards were bringing me back. Shade's got them locked up in a room down the hall from the cells."

After hearing her story, the rangers had put a little more trust in her. She was starting to question why they had been enemies in the first place, but she knew that as soon as they got out of that place, their shaky truce would be over.

Andros looked over at her and asked "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, we have one thing that Shade doesn't know about." Astra said holding her hand up and making purple sparkles appear in front of her. "I think I know how we are going to get out of here." She replied with a smile.


	7. The Escape part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, except Shade.

Behind the Mask

Chapter 7: The Escape part 1

A red light on the wall glowed to life in the dark room. "Cassie, it is time to wake up."

Cassie groaned as the lights came on above her bed. "What time is it DECA?"

"It is 6 o'clock in the evening in Angel Grove. You have slept for eight hours, which is adequate for a full night's sleep. It is time to get up."

With another groan, Cassie rolled out of bed. She walked over to the mirror and frowned at her appearance. Even though she had just woke up, she still looked tired and her hair was really messy. She hadn't bothered to change when she went to bed. She had been so exhausted that she barely got her jacket and boots off before collapsing on her bed.

She took a quick shower and put on a clean uniform. Then reached for her brush and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Taking another glance in the mirror she sighed "Well that's better at least."

Walking out of her room she asked DECA, "Has TJ slept at all?" They had been taking turns searching for the others and watching over Zhane. Even after Zhane went to his room, they would check on him every now and then. Neither of them had slept much since the others had been taken. It had been three days already and they hadn't had any luck. When DECA assured them that Zhane would be okay and that she would keep an eye on him, TJ told Cassie to go to bed.

The nearest red eye came on as Cassie approached it. "TJ is sleeping now."

Cassie frowned. He had told her he would wait for her to get up before he went to bed so that they wouldn't have to stop the manual search. DECA had search capabilities, yes, but it seemed to take longer because she would search every nook and cranny, whereas Cassie and TJ would look in the most plausible places. "When did he go to bed?" she asked as she stepped into the megalift.

DECA's light in the megalift came on as she replied, "Two hours and twenty-six minutes after you did."

'He must have been really tired then.' Cassie mused. She thought he could make it though, he looked a lot less tired than she felt. 'Oh well, at least he's sleeping, now.' she thought.

"Thanks DECA." she told the computer almost as an afterthought as the megalift slowed to a stop. The red light flashed in reply as the door opened onto the bridge.

Zhane was sitting at Ashley's station and he turned as Cassie walked onto the bridge. "Good morning, or, well...I guess good evening." he greeted with a grin.

"Well you look like you're feeling better." Cassie replied.

"Yeah, I still have a little bit of a headache, but I don't feel lightheaded anymore."

He had taken the bandage off of his head and he wasn't squinting anymore so Cassie figured he was alright. She unconsciously glanced at her own previous injury as she sat down at her station. She had taken the bandage off of her wrist before she went to bed and hadn't thought to wrap it again since she got up. She rotated it experimentally and felt only a slight twinge. She silently grinned to herself. That was one of the great things that came with The Power: a fast-healing ability. "Plus I figured you guys could use some help so I ran TJ off when I came up here. He should be up soon." Zhane continued.

She nodded and then asked, "Have you found anything?"

Zhane looked down at the console in front of him, then looked back at Cassie. The grin he was wearing was gone and had been replaced with a look filled with worry and frustration. He shook his head, "Nothing."

Cassie got up and went over to Zhane. Placing a hand on his shoulder she said, "We'll find them, don't worry."

Zhane nodded halfheartedly but didn't say anything. Cassie gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled when he turned to look at her. "I was going to go get something to eat, want to join me?"

Zhane nodded again and followed Cassie off the bridge.

* * *

A spark of violet flashed across the dark cell and the lock on the large door clicked. Astra reached out and pushed it open and stepped out into the hallway, quickly followed by Andros and then Ashley supporting Carlos with her uninjured arm.

"Nice!" Carlos whispered as he and Ashley stepped through the door. When he looked up, Astra and Andros were standing almost back to back, watching both ends of the hallway.

Astra turned to face the three of them. In the bright lighting of the hallway, Carlos could see just how bad her injuries were. She still looked the worse for wear, her left hand was clutching her right side and she was noticeably favoring one foot over the other. Carlos saw concern flash across Andros's face as he took in her appearance.

"Are you alright?" the red ranger inquired.

"I'll be alright." she replied looking at Andros. Then, turning to take in the other two rangers, said, "Right now we have to concentrate on getting out of here. We have about ten minutes before the guards get back from their break, we have to hurry."

Giving Astra another cursory glance, Andros nodded. "Ok, so where do we go first?"

Astra turned back to the direction she had been facing when Carlos an Ashley joined them in the hallway and pointed. "The room with your morphers...this way."

* * *

TJ stepped off the lift onto the bridge about the same time Cassie and Zhane came in the doorway on his left at a fast pace. "What's going on?" he asked as they rushed to their stations. He had just got up and come down here to see how the search was going.

"An unidentified ship is hailing the Megaship." DECA answered.

"Open communications," Zhane told the computer.

The new unidentified enemy appeared on the screen in front of them, an evil grin on his face. "Hello _rangers_ ," he said, the second word loaded with distaste. "I am Shade, the..."

"What did you do with our friends?" Zhane demanded, effectively cutting him off. He had been extremely worried about Astra since their friends got captured, and jumped at the chance to take out his frustration on their masked enemy. TJ walked over to one of the consoles lining the walls on the bridge to try and get a lock on their new enemy's location, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

Shade laughed, obviously catching on to what he was trying to do. "Don't bother trying to trace this signal, DECA doesn't have the advanced capabilities to find me with my upgraded enhanced shielding." TJ still tried to get a lock, but was having no luck. Every attempt he made was blocked or there was nothing there. He was really starting to dislike this Shade character.

"How do you know about DECA?" Cassie asked.

"Where are our friends?" Zhane asked over her.

With another grin, Shade replied, "They're in a containment cell on my ship as we speak. Oh, don't worry rangers, they're still alive...for now."

"What do you want from us?" TJ inquired.

"I want..." Shade paused as an alarm started going off on his ship. He looked away from the screen and demanded, "What's going on?" The rangers couldn't here the reply, but it definitely wasn't good news. "Well, after them! Don't let them escape!" Shade looked back at the screen with a menacing glare. "We'll continue this later!" he said and cut the link.


	8. The Escape part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer :** I do not own Power Rangers, but Shade and his ship are mine.

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 8: The Escape part 2**   


The rangers and Astra hurried down the hall until they came to a door on their left. Astra threw up her arm to stop the other three.

"This is where I saw them put the morphers." she whispered.

Carlos frowned at the lock on the door. "But how are we gonna get in?" he questioned, his voice as soft as Astra's.

With a look that clearly said 'duh', Astra summoned her staff and blasted the lock open. She rushed forward and pushed open the door, holding it for the others to come through. She heard Carlos mumble something about magic as he and Ashley stepped into the room. "We'll have to hurry, someone might have heard that blast."

"Right," Andros agreed looking around the room. "Where are the morphers?"

Astra let the door close behind her and walked over to a table sitting in the middle of the room. She put her hand on the table. "They were right here in a box," she said with a confused look on her face. "I don't understand, why would he move them?"

"Maybe he didn't move the morphers at all, maybe they were never here in the first place," Carlos accused looking straight at Astra.

Astra was in his face in seconds. Despite her injuries she could still move fast, "Look, I'm in the same situation as you, I want to get out of here just as much as you do."

Andros stepped between them and gave them both The Look. "We don't have time for this. We all have to trust each other if we want to get out of here...Alright?" he said looking at each of them in turn.

Ashley nodded with a small smile when Andros glanced at her. He grinned in return and looked at Astra. "Alright," she said easing back a little, her eyes still on Carlos. Carlos sighed audibly. "Fine," he muttered.

"Okay," Andros said stepping back from Carlos and Astra. "Astra, do you know where Shade would have moved the morphers?"

She shook her head. "Well, if it were me, I'd keep them in my sight."

"Not good, that means they're probably...on the bridge?" Ashley said slowing down on the last three words and turning it into a question. The three rangers looked at Astra. Her expression was grim and the rangers knew that Ashley's guess was most likely right.

Astra sighed. "The bridge is on deck one, I'll go get your morphers and meet you in the cargo bay." Almost knowing what Carlos was going to say before he even opened his mouth, she said, "You can trust me, we're all in this together," she paused, then noticing that the rangers weren't totally convinced, she continued. "Look, with me going after the morphers, Shade will be more worried about losing them and recapturing me than going after you...and if I fail, then you guys get away and I'm still a prisoner. Do you trust me?" she asked looking straight at Carlos. Carlos nodded, followed by Ashley and Andros.

"Alright," she said, jumping back into leader mode. "The cargo bay is two decks down, there should be some Shadow-Fighters located on that deck. I'll get your morphers back and meet you in the cargo bay. Be ready to leave as soon as I get there."

"Okay," Andros nodded.

"Astra?" Ashley said as she turned to leave them.

She turned to face them again. "Yes?"

"Will you be okay alone?"

She grinned at her. "I'll do my best, I promise." She turned and opened the door peering down the hallway before stepping outside the room. The others followed suit. Glancing over her shoulder, Astra whispered, "The access ladder chutes are at the end of this corridor, they will take you straight down to the cargo bay."

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" boomed a loud, unfamiliar voice. "Not trying to escape are we?" It was one of the guards that had been guarding their cell. He turned his back to them and yelled, "The prisoners are trying to escape! Sound the..."

Andros placed the guard in a headlock and eased him to the floor when he lost consciousness. "Don't you know not to turn your back on your enemies?" he inquired. He would have gone on, but at that moment, red lights lit the corridor and an alarm sounded throughout the vessel.

"Come on, we've got to go. We don't have much time." Astra said leading the way to the access ladders.

Once they reached the ladders, Astra turned to face them. "Okay, the bridge is three decks up, I'll meet you in the cargo bay once I get the morphers." She turned and reached up to grab a rung on the ladder.

Ashley put her hand on Astra's arm. "Are you sure about this? Maybe one of us should go with you. It's not that I don't trust you...I do," she hurried to add. "It's just that, well you said yourself that Shade will be more worried about you and the morphers than us."

"I have this," she said holding her hand out. Her palm was sparkling with purple energy. "I'll be fine."

"But...," Ashley started, but Astra cut her off. "Look, if I'm not back in ten minutes, then go without me."

"No!" Ashley argued.

"Astra, we won't leave without you." Andros said as he stepped forward. "You're the reason that we are out of that cell, we won't leave you."

"It may be the only chance we have," she replied with a somber look. "We can't afford to be captured again."

Andros sighed. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed. Astra turned to climb the ladder. "And Astra...," Andros called. He waited for her to turn back toward him before he continued. "Be careful."

She nodded and the rangers watched her climb up the ladder. As soon as she was on the next level, Andros grabbed the rungs and started to climb down, followed by Carlos, and then Ashley. They didn't run into any trouble in the access tunnels and soon found themselves in the cargo bay.

There were about seven or eight Shadow-Fighters lining the outer walls of the cargo bay. On closer inspection, the rangers figured out that each fighter could fit two passengers. Ashley and Andros helped Carlos into one of the fighters. Having The Power did give them healing abilities, but their morphers served as conduits for The Power and all the abilities that came with it. So, no morphers, no fast healing and that downfall was affecting Carlos the most.

Andros and Ashley were standing outside the fighter that Carlos was in, keeping a lookout for Shade and his minions. They could still hear the alarm, but it was slightly muted, there weren't any alarms in the cargo bay. The cargo bay was oddly unguarded, which made the rangers uneasy. Ashley was starting to get really worried.

"Andros, it's been almost ten minutes, we should go after her."

"No Ash, we can't. Astra was right, if we get caught, we may not get another chance."

"If we leave her behind, then what will they do to _her_? Will _she_ get another chance? What if Shade finds out who she really is? What if he already knows...? We can't leave her, not after all that she's done for us."

Andros sighed. "Fine, I'll go see if she needs any help."

"No Andros, I'll go. You need to stay with Carlos just in case there's trouble here. You're the only one who can figure out how to fly these things, I'm gonna need you to guide me outta here when I get back."

"But you're-"

"I'll be hiding for the most part, not fighting...I'm just going to see if she needs help getting out, okay? Besides, I can move around more stealthily than you can anyway." she added with a grin.

"Okay, just be careful Ash," Andros replied sincerely.

This time she gave him a real smile. "I promise," she told him, then, turned and headed back the way they had come and disappeared through the doors.

Ashley heard the sounds of battle outside the bridge as she approached it from the corridor. The alarm had been silenced, but the red lights in the corridors were still flashing their warning. It actually made it darker in the hallways, which made it easier for her move around discretely. She was leaning up against the wall trying to decipher what exactly was going on and where Astra was when she came stumbling through the raised bulkhead, crashing to the floor.

She saw Ashley and rushed over to her, pushing something into her hands. It was two of the morphers. Ashley looked up at her, confused.

Trying to catch her breath, Astra said, "They knocked the third one out of my hands, I'm going back for it. Go back to the ship and tell Andros to be ready to go in five minutes. If I'm not there in five minutes, then you guys get out of here, I can't keep them here much longer. Okay?"

Ashley hesitated for a minute, then, finally, she nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you for trusting me," Astra told her with a wane smile. "I'll get that morpher back, I promise."

Much to Astra's surprise, Ashley smiled and hugged her briefly. "We'll come back for you if anything happens, _I_ promise." She smiled at her again before turning and hurrying back the other way.

Astra grinned shortly at Ashley's back and then whirled around when Shade's guards came pouring off the bridge. She jumped back into the fight, but there were too many guards. They were rapidly closing in on her and she was wearing down quick. She refused to use her magic in their presence, not wanting to give herself away. Within minutes, the guards hauled Astra to her feet and back onto the bridge to stand in front of Shade.

Luck seemed to be on Ashley's side. Once again, she didn't have to avoid very many guards on her way back. She looked down at the two morphers in her hands and realized that they were hers and Carlos's. She put hers on her wrist and stuffed Carlos's in her pocket when she got to the access ladders. She climbed down as fast as she could and ran into the cargo bay.

Andros was in the middle of about ten guards, fighting for all he was worth and looking like he was almost on his last leg. Ashley hurriedly morphed and was at his side in seconds, catching him as he collapsed to the floor.

"Andros! Are you alright?" she asked, worried.

He nodded and she helped him stand. When the two of them had defeated the rest of the guards, Andros turned to face Ashley. "So what happened?"

Ashley demorphed and fished out Carlos's morpher, tossing it to him when she caught his eye. He had stayed on the small fighter during the fight, 'probably on Andros's orders', Ashley mused.

"Astra was able to get two of the morphers," she explained. "She gave these to me and went back for yours."

"So where is she?" Carlos asked. Getting his morpher back must have made him trust Astra a little more. This was the first time that he'd shown that he was worried about Astra since their scuffle earlier.

Ashley looked over at him sadly. "If she's not here by now, then she's been recaptured. We've gotta get out of here now, while we still can."

Andros nodded, "Alright...Ash, you take this fighter with Carlos. I'll be in the one right beside it. Get in and start up the systems, I'll guide you the rest of the way."

"Alright," she said climbing up into the cockpit. She flipped a few switches and heard the engines come online. A few seconds later, Andros was guiding her through the procedures for take off. Within minutes, they were free of Shade's ship and on their way back to the megaship.


	9. Trouble Getting Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer** Not mine sadly...never was, never will be. Do own Shade and his minions though. :)

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 9: Trouble Getting Back**   


"Five small ships approaching," came Deca's cool voice over the intercom on the bridge.

The three rangers were immediately alert. They had stayed on the bridge since their very short interrupted talk with Shade. It had only been an hour, and they had gotten more worried with every passing moment about what was happening to their friends.

Cassie ran over to her station and touched a few buttons on her console. "They're not Velocifighters," she stated.

"Bring it on-screen Deca," Zhane demanded. The viewing screen immediately went from showing a star field to showing the five foreign ships. Two of the flyers were a little ahead of the others and looked as though they'd been through a major firefight. They were badly damaged and most likely couldn't take much more.

"That must be them, they must have escaped!" TJ exclaimed.

Zhane nodded in agreement, "We've got to help them." He went over to Andros's console and sat down, barking out instructions like Andros always did. TJ took over the second row of consoles, steering the megaship in the direction of the potential enemy flyers and Cassie was in charge of the lasers.

"Deca, can you establish a communication link with those two flyers?" Zhane asked, fingers moving wildly over the console.

"Their frequency signals are being blocked, the sensors are not picking up anything," Deca responded calmly.

A minute later, the three of them collectively let out a sigh of relief when all of their morphers beeped simultaneously. Zhane tapped his in reply and said, "Need some help?"

The voice on the other end chuckled bitterly. "It'd be nice," came Carlos's voice. "We're down to about thirty percent power and we just lost our shields."

"Do you have lasers?" Zhane asked grabbing the console as he was jerked to the left. TJ had just made a hairpin turn pursuing one of the enemy ships and Zhane had been caught off guard. He had never been as good as Andros was at splitting his attention while in battle, and was wishing he was as perceptual now.

"No, they were shot down a few minutes before you guys came into view," Carlos replied. "Andros still has lasers though, he's a little better off than we are."

"Yes!" Cassie exclaimed, drawing Zhane's attention. "Two to go." Zhane looked up to see one of the small ships exploding as Cassie's laser-fire made impact.

Focusing his attention back to Carlos, he said, "You guys hang in there, we'll take care of these guys."

"We're trying, I'm just glad Ashley's a natural at maneuvering this thing. See ya in a few minutes, if we manage to hold this thing together." Carlos said, cutting the link after Zhane's acknowledgment and mock-threat if they _weren't_ seen in a few minutes.

Zhane focused back on the battle on the screen in front of him. He saw what must have been Andros's ship veering to the right and firing on one of the two remaining ships. The lasers hit their mark and the small ship exploded. Andros's flyer flew past the debris and circled around to go after the last remaining ship, which was currently pursuing and firing upon Ashley's flyer. She was doing a really good job at dodging the oncoming fire for never flying one of those things before. Zhane had to agree with Carlos, Ashley was a natural.

"TJ, circle around and come in from the right side," Zhane told him, seeing Andros's flyer approaching from the left. He recognized the maneuver at once. It was one that he and Andros had perfected in their flight training on KO-35 years ago. TJ did as instructed and Cassie started firing upon the lone fighter as Andros hammered it from the other side. Cassie clapped her hands together as the fighter was hit by one of her well aimed shots and exploded.

As the debris cleared though, there was only one flyer on the viewscreen...Andros's. Zhane immediately reached for his morpher. "Carlos, Ashley, are you guys ok?" he asked worriedly. There was no reply. Zhane shot a concerned look at Cassie and TJ and was about to call for their missing teammates again when he heard Ashley's shaky voice reply, "We were shot down...lost control...the systems shut down...crashed on the moon..." her voice trailed off.

"Ashley, are you ok?" TJ asked his own communicator.

No reply.

After a few minutes of silence, TJ called, "Ashley?"

Finally, they heard her let out a grunt of pain. "I'm stuck...and Carlos is unconscious...and I think...I think the ship is going to explode."

The three rangers immediately stood and gathered at the center of the bridge. "Alright Ashley, just hold on, we're on the way," Cassie said into TJ's communicator. The three of them morphed and teleported directly to the moon.

The scene that they came upon was frightening in and of itself. The ship had crashed nose-first into the ground and was propped up at a an awkward angle. A fire had sprung up in some of the debris that had come off in the crash really close to the crash site.

They ran over to the ship's cockpit and saw Ashley struggling to get out of the wreckage with no luck. Carlos was still in his seat, hanging limply in the straps of the safety restraints.

On closer inspection, the rangers saw that the impact had crushed the nose and trapped Ashley between the console and the pilot seat. They rushed to help her.

"My foot's stuck," she told them. "Carlos, he was knocked unconscious on impact. I haven't been able to wake him up."

"TJ, do you think you can get Carlos out yourself?" Zhane asked.

"Yeah," TJ nodded in reply, then climbed up on some of the debris to get to Carlos.

Andros's fighter flew overhead before landing behind the wreckage and in minutes, he was on the scene. Running up beside Zhane, Andros called, "Ashley, are you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just my foot," she replied.

After assessing the situation, Andros stepped into his role as leader. "Cassie, go help TJ with Carlos, Zhane and I will get Ash out." Cassie nodded and left them.

Andros bent down beside Ashley to look under the console as best he could. He couldn't see her foot though so he reached down and followed her leg until his hand ran into the part of the console that had her trapped. He tried pulling on the metal but it wouldn't budge. He lifted his wrist before he thought about it and then let out a groan when he remembered that he didn't have his morpher.

"Zhane, have Deca send down the laser cutter," he told his friend while he continued to try to pull the twisted metal away from Ashley's foot. He could tell by the awkward way that her foot was turned that it was most likely broken.

"Here," Zhane said pushing the cutting tool into Andros's hand. Andros immediately started cutting the metal around Ashley's foot.

"Um...Andros?" Ashley called after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you almost done?" she asked, a worried note creeping into her voice. Picking up on her tone, he sighed and asked, "What is it?"

"The fuel is leaking and it's getting really close to the flaming debris. We don't have much time."

"Ok, I'm almost done," he replied. He went back to cutting the metal, more hurriedly now.

"Andros?" came Ashley's nervous voice again a few seconds later. "No pun intended, but you're cutting it really close!"

"I've almost got it..." he trailed off. "There!" he yelled triumphantly. "Ok Ash, I'm going to move the metal and I want you to pull your foot out, ok?"

"Ok," Ashley answered. Andros gently lifted the piece of metal off of her foot and she pulled it out with a stifled cry of anguish. Making sure her foot was clear, Andros let go of the twisted metal and got back out of the fighter to help Ashley out. When he saw that she was not going to make it out on her own, he and Zhane pulled her out of the wreckage as carefully as they could and into Andros's arms.

Just as they turned to walk away from the wreckage, they saw Cassie running toward them. She and TJ had successfully gotten Carlos out of the wreckage and back to the ship and she had come back to help.

As she approached, she yelled, "Hurry up, the ship's about to explode!"

Andros turned his head to look just as the fuel finally made it's way to the burning debris and caught fire, rapidly leading to the now abandoned wreckage. He and Zhane turned to run away from the wreckage and Cassie appeared almost directly in front of them teleporting them to the megaship as an explosion erupted behind them.

As the sparkles cleared from his vision, Andros let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and glanced down at Ashley. Her eyes were closed and she had a pained expression on her face.

Cassie had teleported them directly to the infirmary. Carlos was already occupying one of the beds and was still unconscious. Andros walked over and placed Ashley on the other available bed.

She opened her eyes slightly as he set her down. "How's Carlos?" she asked. Andros turned a questioning look on TJ, who had a med scanner pointed at their teammate.

"He'll be alright, he was just knocked unconscious in the crash," TJ informed them. "His ribs are cracked, but I don't think that it was from the crash, they look like they're healing pretty fast."

"It wasn't from the crash," Ashley answered.

"And now, it's your turn," TJ said turning the scanner on her. Andros moved to stand behind him so that he could see the results of the scan.

"Well..." she asked with raised eyebrows. "Is my foot injury fatal?"

TJ looked over the scan. "No, but it is broken, we'll get it set and wrap it up. Your powers should heal it pretty fast."

"You've got a few bruised ribs too," Andros told her over TJ's shoulder.

"It's a good thing you weren't going any faster when you crashed, you coulda come out a lot worse," Zhane told her as a voice from behind him said, "Trying to be like me, Ash?"

Cassie stepped toward the other med bed. Carlos had woke up and was rubbing his head. "Carlos! How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've got a slight headache, but other than that, about the same as before. Nice landing Ash," he added grinning in her direction.

"You try landing one of those Shadow Fighters without engines or power," she told him good-naturedly.

"So that's what they're called!" Zhane stated. At the same time, Andros asked, shocked, "You had no control and you still managed to land it?"

"Yeah...but we still crashed," she replied regrettably.

"Ash, it could have been a lot worse," Andros reassured her, "once you lose control you're lucky if you can even position it to land right." Ashley grinned at him. "Thanks," she told him.

"Alright," TJ interrupted, "we all have a bunch of questions and a lot of explaining to do, so lets get you guys fixed up and then we can have a little debriefing."

"Alright," Andros replied.

"Now, let's see how you fared while you were MIA," came Zhane's voice from behind him. He turned to see a med scanner pointed at him. "Well other than the lovely crown you're wearing, no wonder I couldn't contact you," he said the last a little more softly. He knew that Andros hadn't told the Earth rangers about their telepathy and decided it best to respect that.

"It's ok, they know," Andros informed him. "I told them when I got this," he said pointing the ring on his head.

"They may know, but TJ and Cassie don't. You're fine by the way, other than a few scrapes and bruises anyway." Their conversation went unnoticed by the others as they tended to their friends.

"Now, let's see if we can get that ring off." Zhane walked over to the corner of the room and returned with some sort of tool not native to Earth. He held it up to Andros's head and removed the ring.

About thirty minutes later, Ashley's foot was all bandaged up and Andros and Carlos had been taken care of. They all found a seat in the medical bay and explained everything, including Andros and Zhane's telepathy.

"So Astra, who is Astronema, is still on Shade's ship?" TJ asked after hearing their story of what happened while they were captured.

"Yes," Ashley replied, "and we have to save her, I promised we'd come back for her."

"Plus, Shade still has my morpher." Andros added.

"Yeah, but there's one problem," TJ informed them, "we can't pick up Shade's ship on our scanners."

Andros looked down, thinking for a minute. "Wait...the other Shadow Fighter, the one I was flying, it shows exactly where the ship is. We can use it to find our way back."

"Yes!" Ashley exclaimed. "Good thinking Andros!"

"Now, let's rest up and we'll go save Astra tomorrow," Andros told the group.

"Alright," TJ replied in agreement. The rest of the team nodded and went their separate ways to prepare for the next day.


	10. The Next Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer :** Sadly I don't own the Power Rangers, but Shade, his minions, his ship, and anything else you don't recognize from the show is mine.

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 10: The Next Morning**   


Andros woke up abruptly thinking that he was back on Shade's ship. He was having a hard time sleeping on the megaship, even though he hadn't been gone for long. Rolling over on his side, he asked, "Deca, what time is it?"

Deca's light promptly flashed on as she answered, "It is currently 5:14 AM on Earth in Angel Grove."

With a groan, Andros decided to just get up, he wouldn't get much more sleep anyway. He rolled out of bed and took a quick shower, then dressed and headed for the work bay to get something to eat. As he passed Ashley's door though, he stopped, wondering if she was awake and if she was having as much trouble sleeping as he did. He decided that if she was asleep, he wasn't going to risk waking her, depriving her of the few hours that she had left to sleep. They had a big day ahead of them and he didn't want her getting hurt just because he wanted to ease his conscience. She already had one injury, she didn't need another.

He continued walking to the work bay. When he arrived, he went straight to the Synthetron, punching buttons to get a hot chocolate. Ashley had introduced him to the wonderful drink shortly after the Earth rangers came to the megaship and it had instantly become one of his favorites. He always drank it in the morning when he got up cause it seemed to help him wake up easier.

Ashley once showed him what a lot of people on Earth drank in the morning to wake up. It looked a lot like hot chocolate so he had tasted it, thinking it would be just as good. Boy was he wrong! It was one of the most awful drinks that he had ever tasted. Ashley had laughed at the face that he made and didn't hesitate to remind him of it every now and then, doing her own reenactment of his face. How anyone could drink that in the morning, he still didn't understand.

He took his hot chocolate and sat down at the table, trying to think up a plan of how exactly they were going to rescue Astra. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when someone else entered the work bay.

"Wow, I thought I was the first up." Andros looked up abruptly, startled out of his thoughts.

Ashley was standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed, a friendly smile on her face. Noticing Andros' slight jump, her smile sobered a little. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Andros shook his head at her, "Nah, I just didn't see you there."

Ashley uncrossed her arms and walked over to the Synthetron with only a slight limp. She pushed a few buttons, then turned to face him while she waited. "Why are you up so early anyway?"

Andros had watched her limp across the room and had a look of concern on his face. "How's your foot?" he asked not answering her question.

Ashley glanced down at her foot and answered, "It's feeling a lot better, should be good as new by tomorrow." She grabbed her food out of the Synthetron and made her way over to the table, sitting down in front of Andros. He still had a worried look on his face and looked like he wanted to say more, but for some reason, just didn't. Ashley sighed, "Andros, I'm alright."

Somehow, that reassured him a little and he gave her a slight grin. "I'm glad you're okay...but..." his grin faltered and he trailed off looking down. Ashley reached across the table and put her hand on his arm. "But what?" she asked sincerely.

He raised his eyes back to hers and she saw a forlorn look reflected in them. "Yesterday, when I saw the crash, I was so scared that you had been hurt. I...I've never been so scared before."

Ashley was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes and reached up to wipe them before they fell. "Hey, it's alright. I'm okay, Carlos is okay, we're all okay. We made it, we're safe now," she told him with a caring smile.

Andros reached for her hand, which was still on his cheek, and gently pulled it away grasping it in his own. He seemed to be at a loss for words so Ashley kept quiet, just being there for him and waiting for him to break the silence. After a few minutes, he whispered, "When I said I've never been so scared before, that wasn't entirely true. I've been that scared twice in my life; when Karone was kidnapped and when I thought I'd lost Zhane. When I thought I could have lost you I...I..."he trailed off.

Taking a deep breath, he continued. "When I thought I could have lost you, it was different from Karone and Zhane." He paused and looked into her eyes, "I thought I'd lose my heart."

Tears welled up in Ashley's eyes. Not letting go of Andros' hand, she stood up and walked around the table to stand in front of him. Andros stood as well, about to say that she shouldn't be walking on her foot so much when Ashley engulfed him in hug. They stood there like that for what seemed like an eternity, just lost in each other's embrace. When they finally pulled away from each other, Andros wiped away her tears and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears.

Ashley finally found her words. "Andros, you mean so much to me and I...I feel the same way. I...I think...no," she paused, shaking her head, "I know...that I love you," she finished.

Andros could see her feelings mirrored in her eyes and knew that he felt the same way. Looking deep into her eyes, he replied, "I love you, too. I think I've known it for a while, I just never knew how to tell you."

Grinning through her tears, Ashley hugged him again. After the hug, they sat back down, Ashley now sitting next to him instead of going back to the other side of the table. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything, Ashley went back to her breakfast and Andros to his hot chocolate, which was now cold. Then, Ashley playfully elbowed Andros in the side. "You never answered my question."

"Hmm," Andros said holding his side.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh," he said, remembering that she _had_ asked him but he had been side-tracked at the time worrying about her foot. "I couldn't sleep. Kept waking up thinking I was on Shade's ship so I finally just got up."

"Me too," Ashley replied. "You know, you don't notice how much we take the megaship's safety for granted, until you don't have it any more."

Andros looked over at her. "I've never thought about it that way before, but I think you're right."

Ashley grinned at him then looked at the entryway where Carlos was approaching from the hallway. "Morning," he called to the other two as he saw them look up at him.

"Morning," Ashley replied. Andros grinned and nodded his head in welcome. Carlos got his breakfast, a simple bowl of cereal and an orange juice, and joined the them at the table. "So, how about you, have trouble sleeping last night?" Ashley asked.

Carlos gave her a confused look that faded to realization when he understood how she would know that. "Actually, yeah, I did. You guys too?"

"Yeah, just insecure about where we are, until we realize that we're on the megaship and not still on Shade's ship," Ashley replied. Andros nodded in agreement.

Minutes later, Cassie and TJ made their way to the work bay.

"How is it that the three of you are the first up when you were the ones that were captured?" TJ asked as he sat down at the table with his plate of food, which consisted of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

"Insecurity," Andros answered simply.

TJ nodded as he reached for the ketchup, then promptly smothered his eggs with it.

Cassie shook her head at TJ as she sat down at the end of the table. "So Andros, what's the plan?" she said looking at their leader. Everyone else also paused and looked toward Andros, awaiting his answer.

Looking at Cassie, then all the others, Andros replied, "Well, Zhane and I are going to take the Shadow Fighter since it's the only way to track Shade's ship and you guys are going to follow on the megaship. Once we find it, Zhane and I will land the fighter in the flight bay on Shade's ship and TJ and Cassie will teleport in while we land. After that, we'll have to find our way from there."

"Wait," Carlos interrupted, "what about me and Ashley?"

Ashley stayed silent, knowing what Andros was about to say. "You two will stay on the megaship and help us when we need to get out."

"But you guys are gonna need all the help you can get," Carlos interjected.

" _You two_ are recovering from injuries, you'll be more help to us here," came Zhane's voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up as he walked over to them and casually sat down at the only free spot at the table.

Glancing around the table at the others, Carlos saw that they agreed and knew that he and Ashley wouldn't be stepping off the ship today. Finally, he nodded, giving in.

* * *

Astra struggled to stand upright in the arms of her captors. Ever since the rangers had left, Shade had been interrogating her about her identity. It had been hours since then and he was determined to get an answer. Every time he asked and didn't get the answer he wanted, he would press a button which controlled the ring on her head and a sharp unbearable pain would course through not only her head, but her body as well.

"Now, I'll ask you again," Shade said grabbing Astra's chin and forcing her to look at him. "Who are you and where do I know you from...cause you're _certainly_ very familiar to me."

Astra kept a defiant glare on her face and stared straight ahead not answering. "Fine then," Shade said roughly letting her chin go and pushing the button. She let out a scream of anguish as her body writhed in agony, causing the guards' grip to falter momentarily as they countered to hold her weight. Finally, Shade released the button and Astra collapsed limply in the hands of her captors. 'I sure hope you meant what you said Ashley,' Astra thought to herself before passing out.


	11. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Shade and everything that is his, is mine. Everything else...Disney's.

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 11: The Rescue**   


After the Rangers finished their breakfast, Andros went over their plan again and they all went wherever they needed to go. Andros and Zhane departed for the Shadow Fighter, teleporting down to the moon where they had left it, and TJ and the others went to the bridge to get ready to follow behind them.

The Rangers did not have to wait very long for Andros and Zhane to get the little fighter off the ground and in the air. Within minutes, the two ships were on their way to Shade's Dark Fortress.

On the bridge, TJ and the other Rangers were mostly just along for the ride. Since the Shadow Fighter wasn't nearly as fast as the Megaship, there wasn't much to do with the controls. Deca could do most of the course adjustments herself, anyway, so they were able to relax and mentally prepare themselves to break into Shade's Dark Fortress again.

Carlos had eventually walked over and sat in Andros' normal seat in between the girls, but TJ stayed standing. He listened while Carlos mock-whined to Cassie about staying on the ship while they got to have all the fun, then chuckled to himself when Cassie reproached Carlos about it not being fun in her book. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't laugh at all, didn't even crack a smile. That was definitely different, Ashley always loved the idle banter within the team. Heck, half the time she was a part of it. Something was definitely bothering her.

"Ash?" he asked quietly, trying not to disturb Carlos and Cassie's banter. It didn't work, they both turned their attention toward him and then Ashley.

Ashley slowly turned to look at him and gave him an all too happy smile, especially for what lay ahead of them today. "Hmm?"

"Are you alright? I mean, is something wrong?" TJ quickly amended his question so that she wouldn't think that he was talking about her injuries from the crash the day before.

Ashley's smile got even wider and more forced as she answered, "No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Her words said one thing, but her eyes said another.

TJ sighed and cocked his head to the side, looking at her. "Something's bothering you; you've been quiet since we came to the bridge and you didn't even jump into Cassie and Carlos' mock argument over there," he said, motioning toward the other two on the bridge. They were still quietly watching the exchange between their teammates but now had matching concerned expressions on their faces.

Still feigning cheeriness, Ashley opened her mouth to reply. She let out a sigh and slumped slightly in her seat when she saw the looks on her teammates faces. "I'm just worried, that's all," she told them. She quickly averted her gaze and started picking at her fingernails.

"You're worried about Andros, aren't you?" Carlos asked. It had been obvious when he walked in at breakfast that they had been deep in conversation and it somehow seemed that they were a lot closer when they were all talking later. Both had been beating around the bush about their feelings for some time. The other Rangers knew that it would only be a matter of time before the couple realized that they were feeling the same thing for one another, they just didn't know how long that would be. Something must have changed.

Ashley's head shot up at Carlos' words but she didn't say anything. A beep from the console that she was sitting in front of caught her attention and she looked to see what it was. Anything to keep her from having to answer Carlos. She was almost relieved at what she saw... _almost_. "We're picking up something on the scanners," she informed the others. They slowly turned back to their stations, giving her a look that said that they knew that she was avoiding Carlos' question.

A few minutes later, their morphers beeped. TJ raised his arm and answered his. "This is TJ."

"TJ," came Zhane's voice. "We're nearing Shade's ship. We should be docking in about three minutes according to this fighter. You and Cassie be ready to teleport."

"We'll be ready, Zhane, just let us know when the shields drop," he answered.

"Will do," came Zhane's reply as he cut the link.

Almost exactly three minutes later, they got Zhane's call. TJ and Cassie walked to the center of the bridge and morphed before teleporting out. Ashley let out a sigh and looked at Carlos once their friends had disappeared. "And now we wait," she said aloud.

"And now we wait," Carlos repeated, turning to look at her. Her worried look was back. Carlos reached out to her, putting his hand on her arm. "Hey," he said and waited for her to look up at him. "They'll be okay."

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yeah," she agreed.

* * *

TJ quickly looked around as the blue teleportation sparkles cleared from his vision. He noticed Cassie doing the same. There weren't many of Shade's guards in the hangar bay and thankfully, they had teleported in behind a Shadow Fighter so they weren't noticed. Cassie nudged his shoulder and pointed toward an incoming vessel. It was Andros and Zhane.

He turned back to his teammate and said, "We need to get rid of the guards or they'll alert Shade as soon as Andros and Zhane get out."

"Right," Cassie answered. She looked around the end of the Shadow Fighter. "I see three over here, how many you got over there?"

TJ cautiously stepped around the nose of the fighter to look. "It looks like about three, maybe four, Andros' fighter is in the way. We can take them out fast if we use our Astro Blasters."

"Alright," Cassie replied, pulling out her blaster.

"We'll go when Andros gets the fighter stopped," he told her, holding his own blaster at the ready. He watched and waited until the fighter came to a stop, pulling gracefully up beside the other fighters on the other wall. He turned and nodded to Cassie before throwing himself around the front of the fighter and firing on the guards. To his dismay, he saw that about two more had come in while they had been waiting.

The guards turned as soon as they heard TJ and Cassie's blasters firing on them and started returning fire. TJ heard Zhane's Super Silverizer join in and within minutes they had gotten rid of all of the guards.

He and Cassie rushed over to the Shadow Fighter that their friends had been occupying and waited for them to climb down. Andros, being the only one without a morpher, was not morphed and looked pretty miffed about something. He didn't say a word or take Zhane's hand when he offered to help him down. Once his feet were on the floor he looked at the three of them. "Alright, Astra's probably down in one of the holding cells. You guys just follow me, I know where to go," he told them, turning to head for the entrance to the hangar bay.

Zhane reached out and put his hand on their leader's shoulder. "Andros-"

Andros shrugged off Zhane's hand and whirled around to face him. "Zhane! We don't have time for this. Do _you_ know where the holding cells are?" Andros almost yelled. At Zhane's silence, Andros continued, "That's what I thought." Looking at TJ and Cassie, he said, "Come on," and turned and headed for the entryway.

TJ followed without question but wondered what had happened between Andros and Zhane while they were on the fighter. Whatever it was had definitely aggravated Andros. He was about to turn to Zhane to ask what he had done when the Silver Ranger brushed past him and moved to stand in front of Andros. Andros let out a frustrated sigh when he was forced to stop. "Zhane, move," he told him icily.

Zhane shook his head. "No, Andros," he said, remarkably calmly. Then he let out a frustrated sigh of his own. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" The calmness was gone from his voice. After a slight pause, he continued. "All I was saying was you're the only one without a morpher, not to mention that you've still got your injuries from yesterday. And if we run into anyone, which I'm sure we will before we get off this ship, you'll be the first in the line of fire."

Andros leveled Zhane with a glare, looking almost as if he could see straight through the Silver Ranger's visor. "First off, it's only bruises Zhane, I'm fine. And second, I'm going to _get_ my morpher back while we're here." He brushed past him and started for the door.

"Not alone you're not," Zhane muttered, just loud enough for TJ and Cassie to overhear. He turned and followed Andros out of the hangar bay. TJ exchanged glances with Cassie and then caught up to the other two.

* * *

On the bridge of Shade's fortress, Astra barely stood, slumped in the arms of her captors. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't be standing at all. She was severely weakened and very sore from Shade's torture, not to mention extremely tired. The only sleep that she had gotten was when the pain was so bad that she had passed out. So far that had happened three times now and they had jerked her back awake right afterward. All of that and she still had not given him any information. She was only getting a brief break now because Shade had gone to one of the consoles after one of his men informed him that some of his guards had been found destroyed in the hangar bay.

Deep down, she was hoping against hope that it was the Rangers coming for her. She dazedly looked around, still trying to figure out some way to get away, when she spotted the red Astro morpher on the floor under a console by the door. ' _If I could only get it somehow without them knowing._ ' she thought to herself.

The next thing she knew, she was being hauled to stand up straight as Shade obscured her view of the morpher. This time, though, he looked at his guards instead of her. "Take her back to the holding cell, there are intruders on the ship," he said, shifting his gaze to Astra at the last part.

Astra jerked her head up, suddenly filled with a new hope. Shade stepped aside and the guards slightly loosened their grip on her so that she could walk by herself. That was exactly the moment that she needed and she took advantage of it. She half-purposely, half-accidentally fell to the floor right beside the door. Hitting the floor much harder than she had expected, it took her a moment to reach out and grab the Astro morpher. She quickly slipped it into the front of her shirt as the guards picked her back up and hauled her off down the corridor.

A yelp escaped her lips when the guards pushed her into the cell, making lose her balance and hit the floor, hard. She looked up as they hurried off, back in the direction that they had come. Slowly pushing herself up and realizing just how weak she was, she scooted herself over to the nearest wall and leaned against it. That in itself had been hard to do, and her exhaustion seemed to all crash down on her as soon as she leaned her back up against the wall. She let her eyes involuntarily close and fell into a light sleep.

She opened her eyes again when she heard the sound of a blaster firing and, too her delight, saw four of the Rangers. The Silver one was standing in front of the cell door which he had just blasted off its hinges, and the unmorphed Andros and Pink and Blue Rangers stood behind him.

Astra slowly lifted her head and watched the Silver and Blue Rangers move the door out of the way so that they could get her out. The four of them rushed in and quickly came to her side. Zhane knelt down next to her and took his helmet off. "Are you okay?" he asked, while looking her over for visible injuries.

She grimaced as she tried to sit up a little straighter and let out a sigh as she answered, "I will be." Turning her gaze to Andros she reached into her shirt and grabbed his morpher. Holding it out to him, she said, "As I promised."

He bent down and reached for the morpher. "Thank you," he told her sincerely. When he went to take it from her hand she closed her fingers around it. "That wasn't an easy promise to keep... but you're welcome," she finished, smiling faintly and relinquishing the morpher.

Andros nodded to her with an appreciative smile and put the morpher on his wrist as he stood back up. He quickly morphed and then looked back to Astra. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"Not very well," she admitted, sighing.

"Well then," Zhane said putting his helmet back on. "We'll just have to help ya, won't we?" He stood up and then bent down to help her up. She gasped slightly in surprise when he snaked his arms under her and lifted her up effortlessly. Mistaking her gasp, Zhane asked softly, "Did I hurt you?"

Astra's arms had automatically wrapped around his neck to hold on when she left the floor and she stumbled over words as she tried to answer. "No! I... I mean... no, you didn't. That was just... unexpected." She smiled in spite of herself when Zhane's Silver helmet looked down at her and could almost swear that he was smiling back. With her securely in his arms, he followed his teammates out of the cell and down the corridor. This was definitely awkward, being in the Silver Ranger's arms, but for some reason Astra felt an odd sense of security, like she was safe somehow.

She looked up sharply when Zhane stopped abruptly. "What is it, Andros?" Zhane asked as the Red Ranger looked down a corridor to their right.

"Someone's coming," he told them, his Spiral Saber appearing in his right hand. "You guys go, I'll hold them off and follow behind."

Astra could feel Zhane's hesitation. He looked at the other two Rangers and then nodded. "Alright, just don't get yourself captured again, we can't afford to keep rescuing you."

The Red Ranger didn't turn as they moved past him and hurried on down the corridor. When they came to a big open space, Astra realized that they hadn't been far from hangar bay. Unfortunately, there were several guards waiting for them.

The Pink and Blue Rangers quickly sprung into action, taking out quite a bit of them themselves, and soon Astra could tell that they needed help. She heard Zhane sigh and felt him hesitating again. "They need your help," she told him.

He turned his helmet back to her. "Will you be okay if I put you down?" he asked. She nodded and he went over to the wall to set her down. It was hard to get her footing as her weight transferred to her legs. Zhane noticed and kept a hold on her until he was sure that she could stand on her own. "Can you handle a blaster?" he asked her, handing her his Super Silverizer.

Trying her best to keep from rolling her eyes, she took the blaster with a nod. To prove her point, she fired on one of the guards that was getting close to Zhane. He turned and saw the guard fall backward. "I think I can handle it," she told him. Convinced, Zhane threw himself into the fray.

Astra steadied herself against the wall and started firing on any guard that she could get in her sights. She kept an eye on Zhane even though she knew that he could hold his own.

All of a sudden, one of the guards came charging up behind Zhane. He was too busy fighting off two other guards to notice and Astra couldn't get a shot because Zhane was in the way. "Zhane!" she called. When he turned, she tossed his weapon to him and yelled, "Behind you!"

He caught the weapon and switched it to blade mode as he turned, striking the oncoming attacker. Astra grinned as he finished off the other two as well and started to make his way over to her. There was only one guard left and TJ was currently finishing it off.

TJ and Cassie jogged over to her as well and looked at Zhane. "Do you think we should go after Andros?" TJ questioned. Before anyone could answer, the sounds of a scuffle met their ears. Within seconds, Andros, Shade, and a whole slew of Shade's minions flooded the hangar bay. Andros and Shade were going at it like there was no tomorrow.

Astra realized that there was no way that they could fight off all of them, even with four Rangers and herself. Zhane had obviously figured that out as well because he turned to the three of them and said, "Time to go." They all nodded in agreement and Astra let him pick her up again without protest.

They made their way over to the opening of the hangar bay, which was conveniently where Andros and Shade were now fighting. "Shoot," Cassie said aloud. "We still have to blow the outer shield." Astra watched as she walked over to the console and went to work trying to figure out how to get the shield to go down.

TJ had gone over to try and help Andros but was blocked by a line of Shade's followers. They had formed a circle around the two as they fought. Astra and the others could now hear what the two in the center were saying to each other.

"What do you want from me?" Andros demanded as he tried to strike Shade with his Spiral Saber.

Shade blocked him with his sword and growled out, "Want? I only want what was meant for me."

"And what would that be?" Andros shot back.

"I want my life back. But I'll never get it back because of _you_. Because you failed."

That statement caught Andros off guard. He paused in mid strike and looked at him curiously. "What?" was all he said.

Astra heard Cassie's call of, "Got it!" just as she started to feel the air being sucked out of the room.

"Andros! Come on, we gotta go!" Zhane yelled over the rush of air flooding out of the bay. Andros turned at Zhane's voice. Shade took advantage of Andros' distraction and moved to strike at his back.

Astra knew that he wouldn't be able to stop him in time, even with warning. She summoned up as much energy as she could and threw it at the line of guards standing between her and Shade. It was so powerful that it not only got rid of all of the guards, it struck Shade, knocking him to the ground.

After glancing at Shade, Andros rushed over to the rest of them. "Are you _finally_ ready to go then?" Zhane asked.

Ignoring his teammate, he called, "Galaxy Gliders, Hang Ten!"

"I guess so," Astra heard Zhane say, almost inaudibly. She giggled slightly and then grabbed onto him tightly as he jumped onto his glider. The four gliders zoomed off, out of the bay and out of sight.

Shade looked up from the ground with an evil glare on his face as he watched them go. "Astronema," he whispered.


	12. Brooding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine! Belongs to the very rich Disney people. (...but maybe someday. Donations?)

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 12: Brooding**   


"They're out!" Ashley exclaimed with a sigh of relief when the Megaship's sensors picked up four Galaxy Gliders heading their way. She waited a few seconds and then reported, "And it looks like they weren't followed." She turned around in her seat to face Carlos, who had gone back to his station, and smiled. "They'll be here shortly."

Carlos grinned in reply. "I told you so."

Ashley smirked at him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. She stood, not saying anything, and headed for the megalift, almost skipping. Carlos quickly followed her and the two of them were waiting in the work bay when the others arrived.

The rangers each appeared in front of their own jump tube simultaneously. Ashley quickly gave them all the once over and noticed that the rangers looked, for the most part, unscathed. She also noticed that Zhane was carrying Astra. She definitely looked the worse for wear; her eyes were half closed and she was very relaxed in Zhane's arms. Though if that was due to her injuries or because it was Zhane, Ashley didn't know. She rushed forward to help, asking, "Did you guys make it out okay?"

To Zhane's right, Cassie answered, "We ran into some trouble getting out, but we're fine for the most part."

"And we need to get _you_ to the medical bay," Ashley heard Zhane mutter to the barely conscious Astra. She made no point to argue as Zhane demorphed and moved past Ashley to head to the medical bay.

"So what happened?" Ashley heard Carlos ask from behind her as the other three rangers demorphed and made their way over to their lockers.

TJ gave Carlos a sarcastic remark which made Ashley grin as she approached Andros. She wanted to throw her arms around in a hug, and would have, but he looked like something was bothering him. He hadn't said a word since they had returned. Finally at his side, she suddenly realized that she didn't know what to say to him. He closed his locker and glanced at her, noticing that she was so close now. He raised his eyebrows in silent question.

"So... you got your morpher back," she stated awkwardly. The others slowly made their way out of the work bay, leaving the two alone.

"Yeah," Andros answered kind of stiffly, not meeting her eye. He didn't want to be rude with Ashley; he knew that she had been worried about him, but he didn't really want to talk to anyone right now. Some of what Shade had said to him had really got him to thinking. He had to know him from somewhere, if what he said to him was true.

He could feel Ashley's worried gaze on him as he stood there thinking. She put her hand on his arm and asked, "Andros, are you okay?"

This time he did look her in the eye as he replied softly, "Sorry, Ash, I just need to be alone for awhile." He moved around her, seeing the small flash of disappointment and hurt on her face, and walked out of the work bay.

He didn't really know where he was going, he just knew that he wanted to be alone. He aimlessly followed his feet and found himself in front of the engine room. Deciding this was as good a place as any, he walked in and climbed the ladder to the little catwalk that partially encircled the engine. He sat down slowly, making sure that he couldn't be seen from the doorway if anyone wandered in, and dangled his feet over the edge. He leaned his head against the the handrail, now at eye-level. The cool surface soothed him and he closed his eyes, thinking back to the fight with Shade and what he said.

" _Want? I only want what was meant for me... I want my life back. But I'll never get it back because of you. Because you_ _failed."_

The words came back to him with the same effect that they had had on him before. He frowned to himself as he searched his memories for a clue as to _who_ it was that would be this angry with him for ruining their life. He couldn't remember ever seeing Shade before almost a week ago, but now he knew one thing for sure: Shade definitely knew him.

He didn't know when he had fallen asleep or how long he'd been asleep, but he opened his eyes when he heard the door to the engine room open and someone enter. He stayed quiet, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't find him. But a few seconds later, he heard the muffled sound of boots on the rungs of the ladder to the catwalk. Sighing inwardly, he closed his eyes again.

"Hey," came Ashley's soft voice as she settled herself down next to him and dangled her legs over the edge. He lifted his head and looked at her, sudden guilt hitting him full force for running out on her earlier. "Ash, I-"

Ashley shook her head. "It's okay," she told him with a smile. "Oh," she paused and turned away from him, then turned back and offered him a cup. "Brought you some hot chocolate."

"Thanks," he replied, taking the glass from her. She turned away from him once more and had another glass when she faced him again. Andros frowned at her. "How'd you climb up here with those?" he asked.

"I'm talented?" she answered with a slight grin.

A few minutes passed in silence, while they both enjoyed their hot chocolate. Setting her cup down, Ashley finally spoke, breaking the calm serenity that had fallen on them. "The others told me what happened with Shade. Wanna talk about it?"

Andros sighed and brought his gaze to hers, then looked away to stare at the engine in front of him. "I wish I knew who he was... where I've met him before..." He looked back at her. "He said that I took his life from him, that I failed..." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I've never seen him before now, at least not that mask anyway. I wonder who's behind that mask. I have to have met him before, but where? And what did I do to him that ruined his life?" He looked to Ashley for an answer.

She laid a hand on his arm and sighed. "I wish I knew the answers so I could reassure you," she told him, smiling sadly. He reached over and put his hand on hers, still resting on his arm. "I know," he told her, "Thanks for listening Ash, you reassure me just by being here."

She smiled at him and watched as he finished his hot chocolate. "Thanks for this, too; it was really good."

"I figured you could use it, since you've been holed up in here all day. I'd have brought you something to eat too, but there's no way I could have made it up that ladder with two drinks _and_ a plate of food," she replied.

"I am kinda hungry," he admitted.

"Well, come on," she said, pulling her legs up to stand, "let's go get something to eat, I'm kinda hungry too." She got to her feet and reached down to help him up. Grinning slightly, he took her hand and stood.

He followed Ashley down the ladder and asked, "Is it very late?"

"Not real late, it's nine-thirty in Angel Grove," she said, then scrunched up her nose. "A little late to go down there to eat, though. I hope you weren't craving real food."

Andros paused as his feet found the floor and smirked at Ashley with raised eyebrows. "Real food? I happen to like food from the Synthetron, thank you."

Ashley giggled a little and pushed a button on a panel beside the door to open it. "You just got used to it."

"Maybe," Andros said with a shrug, and followed Ashley out into the corridor.

Andros paused as they passed the medical bay, wanting to see how Astra ( _'Astronema_ ,' his mind corrected) was doing. He didn't know why exactly, but he couldn't bring himself to open the doors and go in. He knew that they could trust her for now, but he wondered exactly what she would do once she was feeling better. Would she turn on them and go back to the Dark Fortress, or would she stay and help?

Ashley noticed his hesitation and stopped as well. "I know, it's kinda weird, isn't it?" she said softly. "That Astronema's here, I mean?"

"Yeah," he replied, bringing his gaze to hers. It was eerie how she could read him sometimes. "How's she doing?"

Ashley sighed slightly and motioned for him to walk with her. He stayed by her side, but she didn't speak until they got in the megalift. "She's doing a lot better, but Shade really did a number on her." She sighed again and shook her head. "He _tortured_ her," she muttered, anger clear in her voice as she glared at the floor of the lift.

The two of them stepped off the lift when it stopped and headed for the work bay. "Zhane was really worried about her," Ashley continued. "He really sees something in her. He was still with her when I left to find you. She was sleeping then."

He nodded as they entered the work bay. Ashley moved ahead of him to the Synthetron, then turned. "So, what are you hungry for?"

He shrugged. "You pick something, I trust you," he said, smirking at her.

"Okay, but don't blame me when you don't like what I get ya," she replied with a grin, and turned back to the Synthetron. She pushed a few buttons and then made her way to the table with two plates. She sat them down, left again, and brought back drinks.

His thoughts went back to that morning when it was just the two of them. It seemed so long ago now. He realized that she wasn't limping anymore, now that he thought about it. He'd been so deep in his own thoughts earlier that he didn't notice. "I see your ankle's not bothering you anymore," he said as she sat down.

She grinned slightly and took a bite of the food on her plate. He finally looked down at his and realized that she had got them both the same thing, though it was still something of which he had no idea. "What is this?" he asked, looking at the layers of noodles and cheese, among some other foreign ingredients.

"A random pick, like you said," she said, her eyes sparkling to match her grin. "It's called lasagna. Try it, you'll like it," she urged.

He reluctantly got a little on his fork and tried it. "Mmmm," he said raising his eyebrows, "This _is_ good."

"See, told you," she giggled. Her face sobered as the laughter died from her features. "I was really worried about you today," she admitted softly.

Andros reached across the table and put his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry, Ash, I didn't mean to scare you." He paused for a second, then chuckled a little. "Zhane noticed."

Ashley's eyes rose to his in curiosity. "Huh?"

"Zhane noticed," he repeated. "Almost as soon as we got in the fighter he started bugging about being careful. I thought he was just trying to annoy me, but then he told me that the whole reason he kept bugging me was because you were worried. Of course, he told me that _after_ we left and were on our way back," he finished wryly.

Ashley grinned slightly but stayed silent. "Ash, are you okay?" Andros asked when her silence became unbearable.

She brought her eyes to his and he finally saw all the worry buried deep within them. "What do we do now?" she asked, not pausing to let him answer. "Astra might decide that her brain just went on a mental lapse and turn against us, Shade is the most powerful being that we have come across yet, and Ecliptor is still heading the Dark Fortress in Astronema's absence. What are we gonna do?" she repeated.

Andros let out a long sigh, and answered her in all honesty. "I don't know."


	13. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

**Behind the Mask**

  
**Chapter 13: Decisions**   


Astra opened her eyes and found herself back on Shade's Fortress. _'No,'_ she thought to herself. She looked around her, establishing her surroundings. She was alone in a corridor on one of the lower decks. Taking a few steps, she realized that it was the same deck that the holding cells were on. She immediately took off, heading for the access ladders.

Just as she reached the access tunnel, a bunch of Shade's guards poured into the corridor behind her. She hurriedly grabbed onto the rungs and started down. When she reached the bottom, she turned around to find herself face to face with Shade himself.

She was trapped. The only way she could go was up, and Shade's guards were waiting for her there. She had nowhere to go.

Shade burst out laughing. "Nowhere to go... _Astronema."_ He said her name with an evil bitterness, and stepped toward her. She backed away instinctively and tripped, but instead of hitting the wall behind her, she fell to the floor.

She scrambled to her feet quickly, ready to fight, but Shade was no longer there. She wasn't even on his ship anymore. She looked around cautiously and realized she was on the Dark Fortress. Her Dark Fortress.

"Astronema!"

She turned around to find Ecliptor behind her. She started toward him, but stopped when he put his hand on his sword. She frowned. "Ecliptor... wha-"

"You betrayed us. You helped _them,_ " he threatened, ominously edging his way toward her.

She backed away from him slowly. "Ecliptor, no, I can explain," she pleaded, still backing away from him.

"Explain what?" demanded a familiar voice from behind her. Carlos's voice. She turned and found herself on the bridge of the Megaship with all of the rangers. She quickly whirled back around, but only saw the back of the bridge. Ecliptor was gone, just like Shade before. When Carlos spoke up again, she turned back to face them. They all had accusing looks on their faces.

"Explain how you plan to go back to the Dark Fortress? Explain how you're planning to betray us?"

"I'm not-" she started, but was interrupted.

"Of course you are!" Cassie interjected. "You used us. Tried to make us pity you so we'd help you."

Astra frowned, going on the defensive. "What? I don't want anyone's pity; I could have escaped on my own!"

TJ stepped forward, making Astra stiffen. "Then why didn't you?" he asked, then shook his head. "We should have just left you on Shade's ship."

She brought her gaze to Andros's accusing stare. "But I got your morpher back," she cried almost desperately.

He scoffed. "If it weren't for you, I'd have had my morpher when we escaped."

"We should never have trusted you," Ashley said with a glare. "Astronema."

Zhane walked out from behind the others and moved forward until he was standing right in front of her. Her mind pleaded with him not to be against her, too, but her heart sank when he shook his head with a slightly saddened look on his face. "I was completely wrong about you," he said softly.

He didn't say it cruelly, like the others had, but she almost wished he would have. The disappointed look on his face was the worst of all of them. "Zhane," she whispered, reaching for his arm. He shook his head and pulled away.

The next thing she knew, she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her away from the rangers. She tried to pull away, but their grip was firm. They finally whirled her around. She was standing before Dark Specter on some kind of barren planet now.

"Dark Specter," Astra greeted him.

" _Astronema,_ " he replied bitterly. Then he looked at whoever was holding her in place. "Destroy her!"

She struggled against her captor as she heard them unsheathe their sword. "No!" she screamed.

Astra's eyes flew open and she shot up, looking around wildly, mouth open in silent scream. It took a moment to orient herself. She was in a dark room, alone.

The flash of a small red light caught her eye. _'The Megaship,'_ she told herself. She was on the Megaship in the medical bay. The rangers had gotten her off of Shade's Fortress. She was safe.

Before she could _convince_ herself and be sure that she was safe, the bulkhead raised, and two people poured into the room. Astra's head jerked up and she was ready to summon her staff at any moment. Andros and Ashley stood just inside the doorway, matching concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Ashley asked, timidly stepping forward. She must have seen the wild look in Astra's eyes, cause she stopped a safe distance away. "We heard you screaming."

 _'I must have yelled that last part out loud_ ,' she thought. She could still feel her heart racing and a part of her was still in a panicked state. She silently tried to calm herself, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'm fine," she whispered, opening her eyes. Letting out another breath, she continued, "It was only a dream."

Andros moved forward to stand next to Ashley. "Are you sure you're okay? That sounded more like a nightmare."

She nodded, running her hand across her forehead. Only then did she realize, by the wetness on her hand, that she was sweating. Ashley noticed and stepped forward, grabbing a cloth and handing it to her. "Here."

"Thanks," Astra said quietly as she took the cloth and wiped her face.

When Astra looked back up, she saw that Ashley had sat down in the chair beside the medbed. Andros had crossed the room to a computer terminal aligning the wall. They weren't acting like they had in her nightmare, in fact, they weren't being threatening at all. She sat the cloth down, relaxing a little more.

When she felt Ashley's hand on her arm, she brought her eyes up to meet hers. "You wanna talk about it?" she whispered.

Astra let out a sigh and tried to move her legs over the side of the medbed so she could sit more comfortably. She gasped as a twinge of pain went through her at the movement. Now that the rush caused by her nightmare was wearing down, she was starting to feel the aches and injuries she had sustained from Shade's torment.

"Hey, you should take it easy," she heard Ashley say, now on her feet a lot closer than she had been before. Her hand was still resting on Astra's arm, but there was slight force behind it now.

Staying seated, with her legs now dangling over the side of the bed, she let out another sigh. "I just...I just need some time to think," Astra told them softly, in answer to Ashley's question.

"About what?" Ashley asked, her voice just as soft.

"About... everything," Astra replied hesitantly. "Like, figuring out where I belong, and what I'm supposed to do now." She shook her head and continued. "By now, Dark Specter knows that I'm not on the Dark Fortress. Ecliptor will have tried to cover for me, but I doubt that Dark Specter believes him anymore. He's probably got bounty hunters out searching for me now too. And if he somehow finds out that I helped you guys..." She trailed off into silence, shaking her head once more and turning to stare at the floor.

Ashley and Andros exchanged worried glances. Andros stepped forward. "You're welcome to stay here... on the Megaship... if you want. You wouldn't have access to everything right now for security, but you could stay here."

Astra gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she whispered. "You have every reason not to trust me-"

"And we have very good reason _to_ trust you too," Ashley interrupted. "You saved our butts, you got us out of there safely. If anything..." She paused and took one of Astra's hands in her own. "We owe you."

She felt oddly touched by Ashley's words. Her vision blurred slightly and she turned away, blinking her eyes quickly. It had been a very long time since she last cried, or gotten emotional at all, and even a tear felt foreign to her now. Ashley gave her hand a slight squeeze and she looked back at her. "Thank you," she said again, even softer than before.

"No problem," Ashley said, pulling her into a hug. " _We_ trust you, and I know that Zhane does." She pulled back and laughed. "Well, I think he's trusted you since he tackled you to the ground."

Something went off in her mind at Ashley's words. Zhane had brought her to the medical bay, and... he had been with her, she knew, for a while at least. She hadn't been awake while he was there; she had been out before they even got to the med bay, but she knew somehow that he had stayed there with her. "Wh-where is Zhane?" she asked aloud with a frown.

Ashley frowned as well. "I don't know," she said, looking at Andros. "He was here when I left, I haven't seen him since."

Andros shook his head in reply. "I haven't either."

"Maybe he just went to get some sleep," Ashley supplied.

"Maybe..." Andros said, not sounding quite so sure.

* * *

Zhane finished up another kata, still deep in thought, even though he'd been trying to clear his mind for the past hour and a half. He didn't usually do katas; they were more Andros's thing. But they always seemed to help his friend relax, so he had decided to try for himself.

He had left the others and taken Astra to the medical bay as soon as they got back. Her eyes had fluttered closed while they were in the lift and he thought he heard her mumble, "This feels so right" as she lost consciousness. He hadn't put much thought into it then, his main concern being her well being at the time, but now those four words wouldn't get out of his mind. Did that mean that she felt something for him, like he was feeling for her?

Ashley had been very worried about Astra and had come down to help. She had stayed until he convinced her to go find Andros, who, he knew, she really wanted to talk to. She tried not to show it around Zhane and the others, but she had been very worried about him. Everyone knew, though, despite her efforts to hide it.

He hadn't stayed much longer after Ashley had gone. He couldn't stop thinking about Astra and what she had said. He finally went to his own room, telling Deca to let him know when she woke up.

He sighed and sat down in the chair beside his bed. The katas weren't helping at all. Why couldn't he stop thinking about Astra? Or Astronema, or whoever she was? Did she really mean what she said? _"This feels_ _so right."_ And what did she mean exactly? It feels right 'cause she feels safe? 'Cause she was saved? 'Cause she was in his arms? Or simply because she was with him? These thoughts had been running through his head ever since he had run Ashley out of the med bay.

It wasn't as though he wasn't thinking the exact same thing when she'd said it. It had just startled him that she did. Ever since he had barreled into her a little over a week ago, he had been drawn to her. Even now that he knew that she was Astronema, he still couldn't keep his mind off of her.

He leaned forward and put his head in his hands, propping his elbows on his knees and closing his eyes.

"Zhane," Deca's calm voice interrupted his thoughts. He opened his eyes, but did not move to sit up. Deca would know he was listening. "You wished to be alerted when Astronema regained consciousness."

Zhane did sit up at that, looking at Deca's flashing eye on the far wall. "Don't call her that, Deca."

" _Astronema_ is who she is. _Astra_ is merely a nickname that was fabricated to keep her identity secret. I will ask her later which she prefers, but for now I will refer to her by the name in my files," the computer elaborated.

"I still prefer _Astra_ ," Zhane muttered.

"You prefer _Astra_ to _Astronema,_ because _Astronema_ makes you think of the evil sorceress you've been contending with for the past few months, whereas _Astra_ makes you think of the blond-haired girl that you ran into and felt an instant connection with."

Zhane shook his head as a slight smile bent the corners of his mouth."Sometimes you're a little too insightful Deca," he told her.

After a short pause, he let out a frustrated sigh, the smile now gone from his features. "Why am I so drawn to her, Deca?" he blurted out in a rush. "It's just..." He paused and sighed again, running a hand through his blond hair. "Ever since I met her, as Astra, I mean," he corrected quickly, "I've been thinking about her, and... worrying about her I guess. Why would I worry about someone I _know_ is my enemy and could turn on us any minute?"

Deca was silent for a minute. Then, finally, she said, "You see the good in her. You see something in her that you identify with, something within yourself."

Zhane chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Deca, but you're not helping any," he replied sarcastically. Figuring that she wasn't going to tell him anything more than he knew already, he asked, "So Astra, she's awake?"

"Yes. Ashley and Andros are with her now," she replied.

"Is she okay?" he asked urgently, already on his feet and heading out of his room.

One of Deca's eyes aligning the corridor lit up as she answered, "My sensors indicate that she had a disturbing dream, but she is alright."

Zhane did not reply as he entered the med bay. Astra was attempting to get onto her feet with Ashley's semi-reluctant help, while Andros stood to the side with a frown on his face. He understood Ashley's reluctance and Andros's look. Astra didn't look at all like she should be trying to stand, and by the look on her face, it didn't look like she was enjoying the attempt much, either. But the determined look in her eyes told him that there would be no way of talking her out of whatever it was that she wanted to do.

He assumed that at least Ashley had figured as much since she was helping her instead of trying to stop her. And by Andros's demeanor, he guessed that Andros had disagreed but wasn't going to help or try to stop her either way.

Zhane rushed forward and pulled Astra's left arm over his shoulder while asking, "Astra, what are you doing?"

"She says she wants to go get something to eat... herself," Ashley answered from Astra's other side.

Zhane looked Astra in the eye, still seeing that same determined look there. "Are you sure about this?" he whispered.

She nodded once, slowly, a pained expression on her face even though she was trying to hide it. "I just need to get out of here; somewhere that I can think." She paused and Zhane almost thought that she was going to say that she wanted to go back to the Dark Fortress. But then she continued. "Plus, I'm hungry, so I figured a trip to your eating quarters might help."

"Okay," he nodded. He brought his gaze to Ashley's. She looked just as tired as Andros, and, judging by the late hour, he guessed that they had been on their way to bed. "I'll take her down," he told both of them.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked. At his nod, she gave him a slightly relieved grin and at that moment, he was half glad that Astra was looking at him. Yeah, he concluded, she was definitely tired. She moved away from Astra and glanced over at Andros. He gave her a slight smile and the two looked back at him and Astra. He knew that they were only waiting to see if he would need any help, which of course, he wouldn't; if need be, he'd carry her. But it was mostly out of courtesy so he tightened his grip around Astra's waist and felt her arm tighten around his shoulders. He looked at her to make sure she was ready. She gave him a tiny nod and half grin for an answer, so he helped her up and out the door, Andros and Ashley following behind. As soon as they were all in the corridor, they said their good nights and and Andros and Ashley went the opposite way to their quarters.

Zhane helped Astra all the way to the work bay and over to the table without any conversation. Neither of them said anything. Zhane had been too busy thinking again, and Astra, he figured, was just concentrating on staying upright. There had been a couple times that she had stumbled, but she never uttered a word.

Zhane walked over to the Synthetron. "Did you have anything in particular in mind?" he asked turning to face her.

She shook her head and replied, "What I'm craving is a foreign dish, you probably haven't heard of it. Just whatever you think sounds good," she told him offhandedly, situating herself more on the stool.

Zhane gave her a smug look. "Probably haven't heard of it," he muttered. "Hello, we're on a spaceship that can go _anywhere_ , I've heard of some pretty diverse foods. What's it called?" he asked.

"Chisan," she told him. "I don't know where it's from exactly, but I know it's not native to Earth. It's been my favorite for as long as I can remember."

Zhane burst out laughing. "Chisan? You're kidding me! _Chisan?_ Really?" he gasped out between bouts of shocked laughter.

Astra smiled back at him. "I take it I was wrong, then. You've heard of it?"

He stilled his laughter, suddenly becoming serious. "You really don't know where it's from?"

She shook her head and frowned, thinking. "I never knew where it came from. Ecliptor always brought me my meals. He never said where he got any of it... and I never asked..." she trailed off. Her face scrunched up more as she tried to think of a time when he had told her, or if it had ever happened.

Zhane's voice interrupted her thoughts. " _Chisan_ is a traditional Karovan dish; it's native to KO-35." He paused and walked over to the small table. "And one of my favorites as well," he said, setting down a plate in front of her. He took a seat on the opposite side of the table with his own plate, which had the exact same thing as hers. She smiled at him before tasting the synthesized food. To her surprise, it tasted exactly like the actual food.

The two ate in near silence and Astra's thoughts drifted back to the pressing issue she now faced: Stay with the enemies that she'd grown to trust and felt a slight sense of belonging with, or go back to what she'd always known, back to being enemies? She didn't think that she could do that, though, going back to being enemies. And if she did go back, would she be able to do Dark Specter's bidding? Could she destroy the rangers if he ordered her to?

She sighed inwardly. She knew that she couldn't. Not after all that they had done for her. But what about Ecliptor, could she just leave him after all he'd done for her? He was the one who'd raised her, protected her. Heck, he'd saved her on countless occasions when she'd been too careless. She knew if she did go back, it would be for him. He was the only reason that she even considered it now.

She looked up when she saw Zhane staring at her. He looked like he was dying to ask what she was thinking about, but he didn't say anything, just waited. She sighed, and decided to answer his unasked question with one of her own. "Where do I belong now?"

Zhane sighed and gave her a sad smile. "Only you can answer that. I mean, you're welcome to stay here and I want you to stay here, but the choice is yours. We won't make you stay."

Astra let out a half chuckle. "That's almost exactly what Andros told me."

"Well," Zhane said, standing to clear off the table, "how about you think about it until you're healed and then make your decision then. And if you do decide that you want to leave," he said, looking at her, "we won't stop you."

Astra nodded and watched him cross the room with their empty dishes and come back. "Will that work for now?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Astra nodded again. "Yeah, for now."

"Okay," he replied with a smile, "then that brings me to my second question. Are you ready to go back now? Because it's really late and I'm extremely tired."

Astra giggled and answered, letting a yawn slip through, "Yeah, I think I can sleep now."

"Good, 'cause I didn't know how much longer I could be a good crutch without needing one myself," he said, smiling. He helped Astra up and got her back to the med bay, where she slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	14. Going Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Explosions are fun! Hee! But the Power Rangers belong to Disney, I just like playing in their world every now and then.

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 14: Going Back

"So...what are you gonna do?"

TJ's words caught everyone's attention and all eyes turned on her. It had been nearly a week since the rangers had gotten her off of Shade's ship and her injuries were almost completely healed. Shade hadn't made any move since her escape and things had been rather quiet on Earth.

Zhane had told everyone that she had come to a decision about whether she was going to go or stay. She had, but she wasn't eager to let everyone know what she had already figured out, and she had really wished that Zhane hadn't said anything.

In one of the awkward silences during breakfast, TJ had reminded her why she was dreading it. She threw a half-glare at Zhane, which was met with a smirk. He wasn't supposed to tell the others yet. She had been planning to wait until the right time, it just hadn't come along yet. To be honest, she really liked it here with the rangers. She felt more accepted here than she had ever felt on the Dark Fortress, and even though she had only restricted access to the Megaship's programs and rooms, she felt like she belonged somehow. Which is why she had been in no hurry to tell them her decision...

She sighed inwardly, scanning them all before she spoke. "I have to go back," she said very softly, almost sadly. She was surprised to hear her voice crack a little, but she continued. "I can't just leave Ecliptor without even explaining." There was an awkward pause where the the rangers just looked at her, not saying anything, or maybe not knowing what to say, it was hard for her to tell.

She brought her eyes to Andros'. "I'm not planning to stay. I-I do want to come back, if you'll let me. I just need to take care of some things there."

Andros nodded. "Of course."

"When will you go?" Cassie asked, her voice as soft as Astra's had been.

Astra sighed once more. "As soon as I can; I was thinking I'd go today."

"What?" Zhane exclaimed. The smirk that had been on his face earlier had disappeared as soon as she had started talking. She hadn't told him what she had decided, only that she had, and by his reaction, he must have been thinking she wouldn't leave. "I'm going with you," he stated.

"No," Astra replied firmly. When Zhane opened his mouth to protest, she elaborated, "Zhane, you can't go with me. If you're caught-"

"I won't get caught," he interrupted. He let out a sigh. "Astra," he waited for her to look at him. "Please."

Astra held his gaze for a moment before shaking her head solemnly. "It's too dangerous. I can get in and out safely on my own, but if they catch you Zhane, there's no way I'll be able to get out of there, not without Dark Specter finding out."

"But-"

"Zhane, please. I'll be okay," Astra told him. She looked around the table, at the other rangers. "I have to do this _alone._ Please, promise me you guys won't interfere." Her eyes sought out each one of them for a reply. They each nodded their assurance, Ashley a little slower than the rest. When her eyes once again found Zhane, he still looked defiant, but finally gave her his word.

* * *

She took a deep breath as she walked up to the bridge. She figured she should at least say goodbye or something. She'd be coming back, but it just didn't feel right to just _leave_ with out a word to the others.

The bridge doors opened and she was glad to see that most of the rangers were here. Unfortunately, the only one missing was Zhane. She withheld a sigh and walked up behind the main console, where Andros and TJ were deep in conversation about something. Too deep to even notice her presence.

"Uh," she started awkwardly, not wanting to disturb them. Though, in doing that, they ended up nearly a little more than disturbed. Andros and TJ jumped and turned around, immediately falling into fighting stances, and she had to quickly take a few steps back to avoid Andros' swing. Almost as soon as she stepped back, realization hit Andros' features and he immediately relaxed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the other rangers moment of shock, and even heard a gasp of surprise from one of the girls. Ashley, she supposed.

"Oh! Uh...sorry. I, uh..." Andros started.

"No, no, it's okay," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I should have given you warning or something. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm leaving now."

Andros nodded, his look now serious. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

She smiled fondly at him. _He cared._ After all that she had done to him, to all of them, as Astronema, he still was willing to help her.

"Thank you, but no, I need to do this on my own," she replied, turning to go.

"Wait," Cassie said, putting a hand on her arm to make her stop. "When will you be back?"

Astra sighed. "I don't know. It shouldn't take more than a day, hopefully I'll be back in a few hours."

Cassie nodded and stepped back with the others. She needed to go. She had wanted to see Zhane before she left, but she could always find him later, after she got back. He just needed some time, she guessed.

"Well, I guess I'll go," she told them, grinning grimly.

Ashley stepped forward and pulled her in for a hug. "Be careful. We want you back in one piece."

She nodded and smiled. Taking one last sweep of the rangers, she called her staff into existence with a thought and her vision was momentarily shrouded with purple sparkles as she magically teleported to the Dark Fortress.

As the sparkles faded away, she barely had time to catch a glimpse of the room she was in, which happened to be her own, before she heard a startled exclamation of "Astronema!"

It was Ecliptor. Good. She let out a sigh of relief and willed her staff away as she turned to face him. "Ecli-"

He rushed forward, gently pushing her further into her room as he moved in enough for the door to close. "My Princess, are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Dark Specter's got half the galaxy out looking for you."

"I had a little...incident, but I'm fine now," she replied, hoping he wouldn't ask. She knew he would though. He cared for her, it was his nature.

"Incident? What happened my Princess?" he asked her, unsurprisingly.

She winced, turning away from him. She realized, suddenly, that she didn't have a clue what she was going to say to him. She'd wanted to come here to explain that she couldn't be evil anymore, but now... she didn't know exactly how.

"My Princess?" Ecliptor said worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Did the rangers do something?" he continued with a growl, when she still said nothing.

"No," she said softly, turning to face him again, "they...saved me." She couldn't quite look him in the eye.

"Wha-"

"We have a new enemy, Ecliptor," Astra told him, getting up more nerve to tell him what she'd come here to say. He stopped and just looked at her as she started to explain. "I went down to Earth to spy on the rangers. Things didn't go as planned and I somehow ended up _with_ the rangers instead."

"Did they harm you?" Ecliptor asked, a warning note in his voice.

"No," Astra said calmly, barely concealing a grin. "They were very nice actually. They didn't know who I was," she added quickly when he gave her what she knew was a skeptical look. He wasn't able to make any facial movements, but she had learned to read him by his body language and had gotten very good at it through the years. "We were attacked, and three of the rangers and I were captured."

"By who? I haven't sent anyone since you left." He suddenly turned toward the door of her room and growled, "Darkonda!"

"It wasn't him, Ecliptor," Astra said softly, stepping forward to stop him. When he turned to look back at her, she gave him a worried look. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here."

He nodded, knowing what she meant. "Who captured you then?" he asked, softer this time, but still with an urgent note in his voice.

She knew this would anger him. Letting out a sigh, she muttered, "Shade."

She barely heard Ecliptor's held back yell as alarms all over the ship started blaring. "What's going on?" she demanded, almost forgetting that she was only moments away from handing over the reins of the Dark Fortress, _her_ Dark Fortress. Her home.

It wasn't home for her anymore though. Somehow she knew that she was supposed to be with the rangers. It just felt...right. Like she had found her place, her real home. Even though it wasn't her brother or her family, she had a strange feeling that the rangers would be the key to finding him, and she had to follow her instincts.

A hand gripped her arm and tugged her forward just before something very close by exploded. She hit the floor hard, a dead weight landing on her back before rolling off of her. "My Princess! Are you alright?" she heard Ecliptor yell over the chaos.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered, shakily getting to her feet. As she turned, she realized that Ecliptor still hadn't gotten up. "Ecliptor?"

"Nugh—I'm fine," he groaned as he pulled himself up.

"No you're not," Astra sighed, grabbing his arm to steady him. She made her way over to a small terminal in her quarters and pushed a button, lighting up the small screen in front of her. "It's Shade," she said, turning around to face Ecliptor. "He must've followed me," she sighed.

Another blast rocked the ship and she caught Ecliptor as he stumbled. "Astronema," he choked out, "you need to get out of here, they'll be looking for me."

"But Ecliptor, you're hur-"

"Just go! ...Be with the rangers." His voice was quiet, but firm.

Astra paused, looking at him, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. "You knew," she said quietly, sounding like the terrified child she'd been when she was thrust into his care years ago. Of course he knew, she told herself. He'd been there, raised her, for over half her life.

"I could see it in the way you were talking. You could never hide anything from me, My Princess," he told her, making his way to the doorway to keep a watchful eye on any on comers. If she were seen by anyone other than him here... He shook his head. He couldn't let that happen. He had to do all he could to protect her.

She let out a soft chuckle that ended up sounding more like a sob instead. "No, I couldn't," she tearfully grinned. As the Dark Fortress shuddered once again though, her grin sobered. "But what about you Ecliptor? I can't just—leave you," she finished quietly.

"You can," he gruffly told her over his shoulder. "You have to."

"But-"

"You have your chance to get out of here, take it! You-" his voice broke, "You shouldn't have to live like this." He turned toward her and sighed. "I was built to be evil, that's all I've ever known. But you, you were born, not built-born to be good. It was only after years under my supervision that you rose to become evil."

Astra frowned at him, staying quiet.

"If there is anything I've learned from you, Karone, it's the ability to care," he paused, just looking at her, then continued, "I care too much for you, to force you to stay here and be evil." He turned back to stare out in the corridor.

"Y-You called me...Karone," she stated. Her voice was so soft even she could barely hear it. "You haven't called me by that name sin-"

Ecliptor whirled around, pulling his sword from his side. "Get out of here! Someone's coming," he hurriedly whispered, walking out into the corridor.

She slipped around a corner, sticking her head out to watch. She heard the sounds of a skirmish just down the corridor a ways. Then, Ecliptor's voice. "Silver Ranger!"

Astra stepped around the corner and ran to the doorway. "Ecliptor, no!" He was standing just feet from Zhane, sword out, ready to fight.

At her voice, he let his arm drop. Still looking at the ranger, he said "Just take care of her."

The silver helmet nodded. "I will." He turned to Astra and held his hand out, nodding to her. "You ready?"

Astra's gaze moved to Ecliptor, watching him as he turned away, heading toward the bridge. "Ecliptor," she called. She waited for him to turn.

"Yes, My Princess?"

She walked over and engulfed him in a hug. Half shocked, Ecliptor just stood there for a minute, before awkwardly wrapping his arms around her. "I'm gonna miss you," he heard her say.

"You will be missed as well, My Princess," he told her. Then, to the silver ranger, he ordered, "Get her out of here."

The helmet nodded once more. "Come on Ast—ronema," he called, barely catching himself.

She turned and started following him. They were only a few feet down the corridor when the Fortress shook again. This time the lights when out and red emergency lights illuminated in their place. "We've got to get out of here," came Zhane's voice. "Come on, quickly!"

She followed and they soon found themselves jumping onto Zhane's Galaxy Glider. Just as they leaned forward to get out of the cargo bay, there was a massive explosion somewhere in the depths of the ship.

"Ecliptor!" Astra yelled, struggling against Zhane.

"Come on Astra, we have to get out of here now!" He held her arms around him tight and leaned into his glider.

Once they were at a safe distance, they slowed their pace and turned to watch what was happening. The outside didn't look any better than it had felt and sounded on the inside. Shade's fortress was firing heavily upon the Dark Fortress. The Dark Fortress was firing back, but by the looks of it, weren't doing much damage.

"There's nothing we can do here," came Zhane's voice. "The Megaship shouldn't be very far. I called them, they're on their way."

Astra nodded and tightened her grip once more around his waist. Zhane turned them away from the battle, just as a bright light flashed behind them. Zhane knew it without having to look, without having to hear Astra's bone-chilling cry, or feel the heat now hitting them from behind. He knew.

The Dark Fortress had exploded.


	15. The Other Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Most of this is my imagination's playground, but as much as I like to think they are, the Power Rangers aren't mine.

**Behind the Mask**

Chapter 15: The other Side

A wave of mirth ran through him as the bright explosion lit the bridge's viewscreen. As it cleared, he found himself laughing outright. He'd done the impossible; he'd destroyed the Dark Fortress single-handedly with his ship alone.

As his laughter slowly died, he turned to his minions on the bridge. "That'll send the rangers a message. And now that I've gotten rid of Astronema and that damn guardian of hers, Ecliptor, I can fully concentrate on the rangers."

His Dark Stalkers, as they were called (though most of the time he referred to them as simply 'Stalkers'), laughed with him, until his glare effectively cut them off. One of them though, caught his attention as he started to turn back to the screen. This one was looking attentively at the console in front of him. "There's something you might want to see, sir," he reported almost tentatively.

"What is it?" Shade demanded.

The Stalker quickly punched a button and pointed to the viewscreen. Shade growled under his breath as he turned, instantly knowing who was on the Galaxy Glider with the ranger quickly nearing the edge of the screen. "What are you waiting for?" he nearly yelled. "Follow them!"

"Wait," he amended, his voice slightly less harsh than it was moments before. "Don't make it obvious. Follow them at a distance. Don't let them know we're behind them."

The Stalkers did as they were told, setting the ship at a steady pace, but still keeping a far enough distance between themselves and the ranger and Astronema. Seeing they had things under control...for now, he left them, telling them to notify him when the ranger's ship came into view and heading to his quarters.

Dark Spectre would be wanting word from him soon, he just had to figure out what he'd say to him. He was actually surprised he hadn't been hailed already. The monarch of evil wouldn't be pleased by the news of his number one ship being destroyed, of that, Shade was certain.

He had already given Dark Spectre several made up stories to keep him off his back, a few in the past few days at that. One in particular being the reason he'd disappeared the week before. He didn't let him know the truth, said something about having to go to Onyx for an unexpected meeting with someone, which had fallen through of course, or so he said, to keep the monarch from asking more questions.

Only, he hadn't gone to Onyx at all. True, the informant who'd notified him of the whereabouts of his two new prisoners was from the planet, but he never went there. He'd spent the last week chasing a trail he wasn't even sure of, and was on the verge of giving up and going to find his informant when he found what he was looking for. And Dark Spectre would never know about that, as far as Shade was concerned.

 _How am I going to get out of this one?_ He thought to himself. He hated being under the thumb of Dark Spectre. He wanted his own revenge in his own way, and having to do Dark Spectre's bidding just kept getting in the way of things he needed to be doing otherwise.

Astronema had always been his pride and joy, his favorite for some reason. And that Ecliptor was no better. Since their meeting long ago on KO-35, neither of them had seen eye to eye with him. The feeling was completely mutual.

Though Darkonda... He was a different story. He had been loyal to him from the start. Shade still had yet to know why, but he figured it was because they were both in the same predicament. Both were under Dark Spectre's rule, and both wanted to get their own revenge on their own, _without_ having to report the details to the monarch of evil.

He'd had much to explain when Ecliptor informed the monarch that the _Princess_ was missing and that he had captured some of the rangers. Shade had somehow played it off, getting him to believe that he was only trying his best to help the _great_ Astronema, and feigned worry when he was told about her disappearance.

...He wondered what would happen now. It hadn't crossed his mind that he'd have to answer to Dark Spectre at the time, he'd only been trying to finally get his revenge on Astronema and Ecliptor.

He glared darkly at the wall in his room when he thought of them. Astronema had gotten away for now, but he was almost certain that Ecliptor hadn't made it out. He'd be too worried about getting his _Princess_ out, and stay behind to make sure she could get away safely.

Too bad she wouldn't make it far, he thought to himself, grinning. Just then, the perfect excuse hit him, and his grin widened. "Maybe there is a way for this to work in my favor..." he said aloud.

Just in time too. There was a small chime, alerting him that he had an incoming transmission. "Put it through," he told the computer. Instantly the small viewscreen lit up.

"Shade!" Dark Spectre's voice boomed. Oh yeah, he was furious.

"Dark Spectre, always a pleasure," he lied, bowing his head.

"The Dark Fortress isn't answering my hails, I want you to find-"

 _'He didn't know? ...Perfect,'_ he thought, barely keeping the sneer from his face. He hadn't heard the rest of the monarch's sentence, too wrapped up in his own excitement to pay enough attention. "Oh. You don't know then?" he feigned sadness.

"Know what? I demand you tell me Shade!"

"Well-the rangers, Sir...they-destroyed the Dark Fortress. I'm pursuing the Silver Ranger as we speak," he told him.

"What?" The lava being glowed red, furious.

"I'm sorry Sir," Shade said softly, convincingly even.

"And what of Ecliptor?" he demanded.

"I've heard no news-it happened only minutes ago."

Dark Spectre let out a growl of frustration, before looking back at the screen. "I'll notify Darkonda. I want you to take the Shadow Dweller and go after the rangers for now."

"Oh I will, Sir," he replied darkly, bowing again as the image disappeared. That was the truest thing he'd said yet-and he'd be sure to stick to it.

* * *

"We're being followed."

It was the first thing Astra had said since their narrow escape, and Zhane nearly jumped at her words. He had been lost in his own thoughts, hearing only the soft hum of his glider and the occasional quiet sniffle at his back.

He slowed the glider, turning his head to look behind them. "I don't see anything," he replied slowly. He looked in all directions then, but still saw only an empty blackness full of far-away stars. Even the Megaship was still quite a ways yet, still out of sight.

"He's directly behind us. Only at a distance," Astra said into his back.

It clicked then, and Zhane could have smacked himself for not remembering it in the first place. "He's cloaked."

He could feel Astra's nod. "Yes."

"So what should we do?" he asked calmly turning back and resuming their previous pace, hoping their follower hadn't noticed their sudden change in speed. "I'll call the others," he informed, already lifting his morpher.

"You don't need to," came Astra's voice. "I can get us back." And before Zhane could even open his mouth, the holding bay shimmered into existence around him.

He was still morphed, and Astra was still standing behind him, but his glider was gone. Back in the launch bay, he assumed. He turned and saw, for the first time since they escaped, Astra's tear-stained face. She saw him looking and turned away, quickly wiping at her face.

"Power down," he said, demorphing. "Hey." He stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around then, a hardened look on her face, and he pulled her into a comforting hug. She let him, nearly clinging to him.

Zhane didn't know how long they stood there, he only became aware of how long it'd been when she slowly pulled away from him. He found her eyes as she did so and she quickly looked away. Staring at the floor between them, Zhane barely heard her mutter a "thanks".

* * *

He ignored the computer as it beeped at him irksomely. It had a voice interfaced with the ship, yes, but he had long since disabled it. It sounded and acted a lot like the D.E.C.A interface on the Megaship and only seemed to bring up his past when he had her voice on.

He was heading back up to the bridge after a not-so-pleasant meeting with his new prisoners. He had gone down there after his short talk with Dark Spectre when he was informed that they were finally conscious. He scoffed as he thought of their conversation.

" _What do you want with us?" the middle-aged man asked, standing protectively in front of the woman with him. "We have nothing to give."_

 _Shade laughed bitterly. "You don't_ know _me?"_

 _The woman boldly stepped forward, ignoring the protective hand on her arm and the look her companion shot in her direction. "You told us you're Shade," she stated rather calmly. "But we are no threat to you. Our tiny fighter barely has thruster capabilities, let alone anything else, and it would never stand a chance in battle; it can't be anything of value to you."_

 _The last part came out more bitter than her previous words had and Shade glared, half his expression concealed behind the triangular mask that covered a good part of his forehead, his left eye, and left cheek._

 _The look wasn't lost on them though, and the woman cautiously stepped back to stand next to her spouse._

 _Shade grinned suddenly and, if anything, looked even more ominous than before. "You're smart. ...Still haven't changed."_

" _But-what?" the woman stammered as Shade turned to go._

" _Wait!" the man called._

The computer beeped urgently at him again. He shot the nearest surveillance camera a glare and walked onto the bridge. A quick look at his control panel told him the reason for the AI's urgency and he rounded on the few Stalkers left on the bridge. "Where have they gone!" he demanded.

At their negative answers, he growled loudly, "Well then FIND them!"


	16. Two of a Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am reviving this story gosh-darnit! Power Rangers are not mine, I'm just playing with the characters a little. I'll put 'em back when I'm done, I swear! (...She says while shoving Andros in closet.) ...-Whistles innocently-

Behind the Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 16: Two of a Kind

Andros sighed and ran his hand through his hair for what must have been the upteenth time today. It had been three days since Astra and Zhane's return, and the scans were still all silent. After the short briefing Zhane gave them all after he and Astra had returned, Andros had been on the bridge looking for any sign of an approaching ship. Shade had been following them before, it was only a matter of time before he tracked down the Megaship, and Andros didn't think he'd give up very soon.

His thoughts wandered to Astra, and the haunted look in her eyes that she had tried to hide when the Rangers had gone to check on her and Zhane just after their return. She hadn't stayed for long, Zhane was assuring them that they were both okay and started relaying what had happened, and the next thing Andros knew, Astra was gone.

Zhane had told him later that she'd retreated to her quarters and wouldn't let even him in.

"Hey," Ashley greeted as she walked onto the bridge, distracting him from his thoughts. "Anything?" She'd been coming to check on him regularly since he'd retreated to the bridge just after Zhane and Astra's return.

He shook his head in reply and glanced back at her, following her with his eyes until she reached her station beside him, turned her chair, and sat. She took in his slightly disheveled appearance and sighed. "When's the last time you left the bridge?"

Andros sighed too and turned away from her, fingers dashing on his console before he looked up at the screen, which was now showing a realtime view of the space around them. "He's still out there Ash."

"Andros..." Ashley reached out and put a hand on his arm to get him to stop what he was doing. It worked, he slid his hands off the console and turned to face her again. Slowly, he drew his eyes to hers. "It's been three days. You've barely left this console since they returned."

"Someone's got to keep watch."

"Deca can do that. And faster than we can tell her too," Ashley replied, squeezing his arm lightly.

"He _destroyed_ the Dark Fortress!" He nearly yelled at her and paused. Hearing the bite in his voice, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair once more before continuing more softly. "And with her here, you know he'll definitely be looking for us."

"Andros," Ashley sighed again.

A noise behind them made them both turn, but there was no one there. Andros glanced at Ashley, who shrugged saying something about "the others", then he frowned, turning back to his console.

Ashley stood and grabbed his arm. "Come on, you need a break. And I _know_ you're hungry. You can have lunch with me, and then you can clean up some and get some rest. _Aaa-aat!_ " She threw a finger over his lips when he made to object. "No excuses. Deca can handle the scanning, and if you're really that worried, I'll get Carlos or TJ to come to the bridge to keep an eye on things."

She gave his arm a little tug and he stood wordlessly and followed her off the bridge.

* * *

Astra watched as the pair made their way down the corridor and out of sight. They didn't see her, she was nearly sure. Though she was certain they'd heard her when she moved by the open entryway to the bridge; she was thankful that one or both of them didn't come looking. Maybe they were just used to it, it was where they lived after all...

It was still interesting to see just how the rangers lived when they _weren't_ Power Rangers on the alert. They were just down to earth, relaxed teens. ...Well, most of them were relaxed anyway. She was beginning to wonder if Andros knew how to _not_ be a ranger.

She was surprised she had averted the yellow ranger's notice when she'd entered the bridge. Astra had been startled by her approach and quickly moved just around the bend of the corridor in the hopes that she'd go unnoticed. She'd been watching the red ranger for some time now. She'd been on her way back from her quick stroll to the synthetron and paused when she heard the red ranger talking softly with the ship's computer.

"You will find her, Andros." _Deca's calm, soothing voice reached Astra's ears easily and she wondered who the computer had meant._

 _Shifting herself around the edge of one of the open entryways to the bridge, and making sure she wouldn't be seen by one of the computer's cameras, she watched as the red ranger fumbled with something in his hands. His shoulders moved up and down in a soundless sigh and he looked up, staring at something Astra was sure was much farther than the ship's main screen._

 _He stayed that way so long that Astra almost missed his next words._ "I just feel like, every time I get close to finding her, something else gets thrown at us. And with Shade now..." _He sighed and shook his head, focusing once more on the thing in his hands._ "I don't think we'll be getting any breaks anytime soon."

"You no longer have to worry about Astronema or the Dark Fortress, is that not somewhat of a relief?"

 _A mix of emotions ran through Astra at Deca's words. The Dark Fortress...Ecliptor...everything she had known for most of her life was gone._ Ecliptor _was gone. Her lifelong mentor, her protector, her... She let out a shuddering breath and brushed a hand across her eyes, then almost laughed at the irony of it all. Not Ecliptor, no, there wouldn't ever be anything funny about that. It was the fact that she was with the people she'd always believed she was fighting for destroying her family._

 _...Family. The word brought back the feeling that had made her decide to stay with the rangers. That this—*something* about it, was right. This was—is where she was meant to be..._

 _She wiped at another tear threatening to escape and turned her attention back to the red ranger. He was no longer holding anything and was now talking with Deca about the scans for the Shadow Dweller—which had still come up with nothing as she overheard the computer relay._

 _Footsteps behind her nearly made her jump and she scrambled around the bend in the corridor so she wouldn't be seen. Moments later, she heard the yellow ranger's voice emanating from the bridge as well. She couldn't hear enough to discern what she was saying since she had moved away from the entryway (and was now between the only two entrances to the bridge other than the megalift), but Andros' outburst found her ears quite well._

" _He destroyed_ the Dark Fortress!"

 _She missed whatever he said next, however, cause he'd lowered his voice once again, so she moved forward to the other entryway to hear better. She didn't know what they would say if they caught her listening in, but she wanted to know about Shade's whereabouts more than she wanted to be hidden in her quarters...though still far less than she wanted confrontation with the other rangers._

 _There was a moment where she was sure they'd heard her, and she was only minutes away from using her magic to teleport to her room, but, after only a seconds hesitation, the bridge's occupants relaxed. ...Just before the yellow ranger dragged the sulking Andros off the bridge mentioning something about food._

"Astra?"

The accented voice startled her so bad, she almost called for her staff as she whirled on the voice's owner. It must have shown on her face, for the black ranger and the two rangers behind him froze in their tracks.

"Woah, woah, it's okay!" Carlos told her, throwing his arms out to the sides in a surrendering gesture. "I didn't mean to startle you," he continued more calmly as he cautiously stepped toward her.

She let out her breath in a rush as her features softened. "I'm just a little tense, I guess."

At that, TJ and Zhane moved forward to stand beside their friend. It wasn't threatening, but Astra still didn't feel much like talking. For a moment, she thought about just summoning up her magic and going back to her room, but Zhane's concerned frown made her stay.

"Hey," TJ started. "It's alright, we understand. I'm sure it'll take a while to get used to this." He gestured around them. "The Megaship, living here, us..."

She was about to respond when Zhane stepped forward, that same concerned look in his eye, and reached out to her. He was being careful, she realized. Not touching her for fear of startling her again. "Just know that you're not alone. We're here if you want to talk."

She did smile then, cause Zhane knew, he did understand, moreso than the others anyway. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Hey," TJ waited for her to look at him before he continued. "Are you okay?" Zhane smiled at the blue ranger over his shoulder and she recognized the same look that she'd seen on Zhane's face since they stumbled upon her. With a pang, she realized suddenly that it was sympathy.

She'd been hiding for days, stealthily avoiding everyone, ever since she and Zhane had returned. They must have been just as shocked to find her here as she was that they'd snuck up on her, she realized. She pushed the thought from her mind when she realized they were waiting for an answer and it took her a minute to recall what TJ'd asked. She forced another smile as she remembered and replied. "I'll be fine. I was just heading back to my room."

"Well, we were just heading down to the holding bay to get something to eat," Carlos started. "You're welcome to join us. Cassie'll be down there soon and Ashley said she was going to drag Andros down there."

"And you don't want to leave those two alone for too long," TJ put in, chuckling.

Carlos pointed at him with a smirk. "Exactly." Then he turned back to Astra, eyebrows raised in question.

"Uh," she quickly uttered, realizing they were all focused on her again. "No thanks, I think I'll just head back to my room."

"Can I walk you there?" Zhane asked from her side.

She hesitated a minute, before nodding at him. TJ and Carlos exchanged an unreadable look, then moved past the two of them. "We'll catch you guys later, then," TJ tossed over his shoulder as they disappeared down the corridor.

Zhane motioned wordlessly for Astra to lead the way, and she stepped past him back the way he'd come. They walked in silence for most of the way. It wasn't until they turned onto the corridor that held their rooms that the silver ranger broke it.

"I—I..." He paused and sighed, his eyes meeting Astra's as she stopped and turned to him. "I wanted to apologize for following you to the Dark Fortress. I know you-"

He cut off as Astra shook her head and looked away from him. "No." Her voice was strained, but she continued softly. "If it weren't for you..." She let out a shuddering breath, not able to finish.

"Hey." Zhane moved forward and touched her shoulder, turning her gently to face him. She wasn't crying, but she wouldn't meet his eyes either. He wordlessly pulled her to him as he'd done when they had returned, wrapping his arms around her, loosely, in case she wanted to pull away. She didn't, and after a moment, he felt her arms go around him and a quiet sniffle in his ear.

He held her until her sniffling died away. When she pulled back, he caught her hand before she could wipe at her eyes and she looked up at him.

"Tears are a sign of weakness," she whispered gruffly. She turned her head away from him, but she didn't pull back.

"No." His voice as soft as hers, he reached up and touched her chin lightly, turning her back to face him. She closed her eyes, causing stray tear to spill down her cheek. Zhane reached up and caught it with his thumb, wiping it away with a light caress. He waited until she opened her eyes to continue. "It just means you're human."

Her lips tightened, but she didn't smile. She nodded wordlessly and wiped at the remaining wetness on her face.

"So," Zhane threw a glance down the hall, then back at Astra. "On to your room then?"

She sighed and nodded again, following behind him as he moved forward. He stopped in front of her door and moved to the side to let her pass. She hit the key pad and stepped inside the doorway as the bulkhead slid open. Turning back to the silver ranger, she smiled lightly. "Thanks for walking me back."

Zhane grinned in earnest, his eyes sparkling. "Anything for a pretty lady." Ignoring her look, he continued more seriously. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "It's just going to take some time."

"Okay," Zhane nodded, smiling grimly at her, then turned to go.

She watched as the ranger turned and started back down the corridor. She couldn't let him go, she had to know. "Zhane?"

He stopped and turned back without a word.

"Why did you want to walk me here? ...Unless you wanted to see me cry, it seemed like you wanted to talk about something?" She turned the last part into a question.

"I didn't want to see you cry." He sighed and walked back to her door, gesturing behind her. "Can I come in?"

In answer, she moved aside, letting the ranger pass as she followed him into the room.

"Wow, still looks like new," Zhane observed, striding across the room to the desk and the room's only chair. Instead of sitting in the chair though, he pulled it out, stepped up on it, and plopped himself on the desk gracefully.

It was true, the only parts of the room that looked "lived in" was the bunk and the small table beside it. She hadn't bothered with making her bed before she left cause she thought she'd be coming right back to it. And the table held the only belongings she still had that she wasn't wearing, including her locket, which she had taken off to sleep and forgotten to put back on. "I didn't really have much," she replied quietly, smoothing out her sheets and sitting lightly on her bed.

"Well, we'll just have to take you shopping when we get back to Earth," he told her, grinning. "I'm sure Ashley and Cassie would love to take you."

She smiled at that, and waited expectantly for him to continue, not knowing what to say. _He_ had asked _her_ if he could come in to talk, after all.

Realizing she was waiting, his smile sobered and he sighed again. "I wanted to walk you back because, I _did_ want to apologize for not keeping my word..."

"But?" Astra asked when he paused. There had to be more to it than that, she could almost feel it.

He let his air out in an amused huff. "But I also wanted to ask you about something that's been on my mind for a while."

"Oh?" She prompted. "What is it?" She hoped she wouldn't have to pull it out of him. It annoyed her so much when her followers would beat around the bush in telling her that they'd failed her yet again. Though, she had a feeling that the silver ranger wasn't avoiding the topic because of a failing or because he feared her. And he wasn't quite annoying her...yet.

"It's just," he gestured wildly with his hands, like he was willing them to explain instead. "The other day, after we got off the Shadow Dweller... When I was carrying you to the medical bay, you—you said something..."

Astra frowned. She didn't remember much of the trip back to the Megaship. She remembered Zhane grabbing her up onto his glider and leaving Shade's fortress behind, and then she remembered waking up in the Megaship's medical bay from a nightmare. The rest was pretty foggy... "What did I say?" she asked cautiously. If it had Zhane all befuddled...

"You said, ' _This feels so right'_..."

"I did," she asked, grinning mildly.

He nodded, but didn't say anything more.

She looked at the floor as she spoke softly. "I've been feeling that way for a while actually. Since... well, since that day in the park, I guess," she realized. She didn't know where that was coming from, but she knew that it was true. "I don't know why I went down there. I mean," she looked back up at Zhane. "I told myself that I was going to spy on you, but now...I don't know. Once I got to talking with you guys, I didn't _want_ to hurt you. And since I've been here," she paused and took a deep breath, then shook her head with a frown. "I don't know. This just feels... _right_. Like this is where I should be."

Her eyes sought his across the room and he smiled. He looked...relieved. "Well, let me be the first to say we're glad to have you here, and I hope you stick around for a while."

"I won't be leaving anytime soon," she affirmed. _'I have nowhere else to go'_ she thought, looking away. Her eyes caught on her locket and she reached out, summoning it to her telepathically. The metal was cool against her skin as she grasped it out of the air, but she slid it over her head without a thought.

The silver ranger didn't bat an eye at her display of telekinesis, but she caught him staring at her locket when she looked up. She looked back at where it was resting against her chest and then back up to frown at him questionably.

"Sorry. It's just, your necklace... For a moment there, I thought-" He shook his head, half-chuckling to himself. "No, nevermind. Sorry, I guess I'm just hungry."

Astra winced, remembering only then that they had been headed down to eat when they ran into her. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to keep you-"

"No, it's fine," he interrupted her. "I _offered_ to walk you back, remember? But I do think I'll go now." He stood, scooting the chair back up to the desk. "You sure you don't wanna come?"

She smiled, standing herself, and shook her head. "Nah, I already ate."

"Alright, I'll see ya later then," he answered making his way to the door. He turned as the bulkhead slid away and smiled. "I'm glad we talked."

"Me too." She walked over to the door as he stepped out into the hallway. "Thanks, for...everything."

"Anytime." His smile widened, and he waved as he set off down the corridor and out of sight.

Sliding back into her room as the bulkhead closed, Astra's fingers found her locket. She made her way back to her bunk, and sat down on it's edge. Grasping her locket firmly in one hand, she fumbled with the catch with the other. Eying the two pictures inside, she smiled and laid back, holding it up so that she could still look at it's occupants.

"I'll find you someday," she whispered softly to the room. "I promise."


	17. A Phantom Appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own them! Only Shade and the plot are mine! (Neither of which make much of an appearance in this chapter. Heh. Oops. *grins*)

Behind the Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 17: A Phantom Appearance

"Ay-yi-yi! Rangers!" Alpha cried from a console lining one of the walls of the bridge.

"What is it Alpha?" Cassie asked as she and Ashley rushed to their stations. They were the only ones on the bridge at the moment, having run Andros off to go get some sleep when they arrived nearly an hour ago.

Deca's voice answered in reply. "I am detecting a ship approaching rapidly off the port bow."

The pink and yellow rangers shared a look before rushing to their stations. Cassie frowned as her fingers danced across her console. "That's too small to be the Shadow Dweller."

Ashley nodded, not looking up from her own console. "It looks like it's a fighter."

Cassie threw a glance at her friend. "You don't think it's a scout ship, do you?"

A high-pitched beep sounded across the bridge and Deca's voice immediately followed. "Incoming transmission."

"Put it through, Deca," Zhane called as he, TJ, and Carlos poured onto the bridge. Astra, following more slowly, stayed quietly at the back.

"Power Rangers," a soft, familiar voice emanated from the ship's speakers as it's owner appeared on the screen in front of them.

"Phantom!" Cassie cried, staring wide-eyed at the screen.

The morphed ranger nodded in acknowledgment and continued. "I have news about Zordon that is of the utmost importance. I need to speak with you immediately."

Zhane nodded quickly, punching at something on the console in front of him. "Of course, we'll meet you in the cargo bay, Phantom."

He nodded again and reached forward. Seconds later the screen flicked out, switching to a realtime view of the small fighter approaching the Megaship, preparing to dock.

Zhane gathered them all up at a glance the same way Andros usually did and they all piled into the Megalift at the back of the bridge. Astra hesitated only a moment, before catching Zhane's eye and stepping in with them.

"Wait," TJ said as the doors slid closed. "What about Andros?"

Carlos frowned and looked around as if he expected their red teammate to coalesce beside him out of thin air. "Yeah, where is he anyway?"

"He's _supposed_ to be sleeping," Ashley put in, sighing. "Cassie and I ran him off the bridge a little while ago." She paused as the lift slowed to a stop and opened again. "I'll go get him," she told the others as they filed out.

TJ turned as he stepped off the lift and nodded at her. "Don't worry, we won't start without you," he told her.

Carlos turned and smirked at her as the doors started to close again. "Just don't take _too_ long," he mock-warned, winking at her.

She rolled her eyes, smiling to herself as the lift hummed to life once more. The ride wasn't quite long enough and she still had a grin on her face as she stepped out onto deck five. As she strode up to the red ranger's room, it occurred to her to wonder if he had actually listened when she and Cassie had told him to get some sleep. "Deca, is Andros in his room?" she asked the nearest camera.

"He is, Ashley," the AI replied, flashing her red light at her in acknowledgment.

She smiled, moving forward and rapping lightly on the bulkhead. Receiving no answer, she tried again, knocking harder this time. The door still remained closed. Frowning, she reached over and tapped the keypad beside the door. If Andros had it locked, then it wouldn't do any good and she'd have to ask Deca for help. But the door slid open at her command, light spilling across the darkened room.

Ashley sighed, smiling at the curled up lump lying on the bunk, seemingly unbothered by her sudden presence. "Crashes as hard as he plays," she said softly to herself, amused. "Andros?" She called out, raising her voice.

The lump moved and from where she stood just inside the room, she could see him raising his arms above him in a stretch, before sitting up lazily. "Only when someone f-forces me to," he mumbled, his words slightly stifled by a yawn.

For a moment, she didn't know what he was talking about, but the smirk he was giving her made her remember her words and she was suddenly glad that the light was behind her. "You were awake!" she admonished lightly.

He shrugged and chuckled softly as he reached for something on his bedside table. "Your knocking woke me up. Deca, lights?" He directed the last at the tiny camera as an afterthought.

"Then why didn't you answer?" Ashley asked as the room became fully illuminated. She spotted his jacket lying in a heap in a chair, where it had been haphazardly tossed and grabbed it up as she made her way to his bed.

Andros took it when she offered it to him and slid it on before answering. "Because I knew that if it was that important, you wouldn't have knocked—plus Deca would have alerted me by now."

Ashley cast an almost guilty glance up at the camera in the red ranger's room. "Actually, we asked her not to disturb you unless we were being attacked. But it is kind of an emergency," she continued without pause. "The Phantom Ranger is here with a message about Zordon."

Andros stood abruptly, frowning. "He's here? What about Zordon?"

Ashley shook her head. "Don't know. He's docking now. Zhane and the others are waiting for him in the cargo bay."

Andros nodded. "Alright, let's go," he said, and the two jogged out of the room.

* * *

Cassie was vaguely aware of the others behind her, as well as TJ's comforting hand on her shoulder, as the little flyer carefully eased it's way into the cargo bay.

She could hear Astra whispering something to their silver teammate from the doorway, but paid no attention until she joined them, standing just behind Zhane almost shyly. She had practically only spoken to Zhane since TJ and Carlos had run into her earlier, but she had joined them at supper, and that was a step up.

Her eyes were drawn to the bulky sweatshirt she was now wearing—which had Astronema's diamond emblem emblazoned prominently on the front—and it occurred to her that they hadn't given her anything to wear since she'd come to stay with them. They'd have to change that later...

Her thoughts pulled away from Astra as the flyer sat down, it's engines dimming to a mere hum as the ship went through it's landing procedures and powered itself down. There was a quiet hiss as the locks were released and the windowed compartment slid away, and moments later, the Phantom Ranger was climbing out and crossing the floor to join them.

His helmet turned toward her briefly, and she smiled welcomingly, lifting a hand in silent wave. He nodded to her and then looked away, doing a quick survey of them all. He paused for a moment on Astra, but said nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Astra shift a little, but she held his gaze firmly.

"Phantom, it's good to see you," Andros's voice from behind them made her turn. He stepped past her to the front of the group. Ashley, just behind him, stopped at Cassie's side. As Cassie watched, Andros laid his right fist across his chest, resting it over his heart and bowed his head in what looked to be a greeting.

She was only mildly surprised to see Phantom return the gesture before speaking again. "And you, Andros. I only wish it were under better circumstances. Is there a more convenient place to talk?"

Andros nodded and turned. "Let's go to the work bay."


	18. Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine! Took me two chapters to get this little plot out, and it's still not quite there yet. *giggles* This chapter caught me by surprise, honestly. All but a few paragraphs were actually in the plans for this one, but the characters decided to do their own thing. *laughs* Enjoy!

Behind the Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 18: Conversations

She followed the group slowly down the corridor, wondering if she shouldn't just go back to her room. Phantom had recognized her, she was certain. Though with the sweatshirt she was wearing, it would have surprised her more if he hadn't noticed. With barely a thought, the sweatshirt lost it's emblem and shrunk down to a thinner material, until it was a plain, lavender, long sleeve T-shirt, cut in a style she'd seen the teens wearing on Earth.

Her changing of shirts caught Zhane's eye and she saw his lips twitch when she glanced at him. Her locket was still there—a small bulge under her shirt—and she pulled it free, looking at if briefly before letting it settle on her shirt. When she looked up, Zhane was staring at it, much like he had when he noticed it the first time in her room.

She frowned at him when he stopped, putting a hand on her shoulder. They were behind everyone, so it took a moment before Cassie turned and frowned back at them in question. Zhane waved her on, and when the rest of the group paused, he told them they'd be there in a minute, waving them on again. He didn't say anything until the other rangers were in the Megalift and well out of hearing range.

Astra frowned at him once more. "Zhane, wha-?" She looked down as he pointed at her locket.

"Can I?"

She nodded, and he took it in his hand, running a thumb over the casing as he scrutinized it closely. She didn't know what would make it so interesting, it was only a simple locket with her—Astronema's emblem on the front, which she'd put on it years ago out of boredom. Why was Zhane so curious about it now?

"I—Is this a locket?" Zhane asked, turning the pendant on it's side to check for a catch.

Astra reached up to take it in her own hand, wrapping her fingers around it fondly, before replying. "Yes."

Zhane ran a hand through his hair and stepped away from her. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just-"

"It's okay," she told him softly. She opened her hand and traced the emblem with her finger. "This is all I have left of my family."

"I'm sorry," Zhane whispered, and she could see pain in his eyes.

Had he lost his family too? What had happened to them? Where were they now? Questions pounded at her thoughts; she didn't have a clue where to start.

Zhane's hand covering hers in brought her back to reality, and her eyes were drawn away from his face.

"Can I see?" he asked softly, almost...timid.

She nodded and waited as he moved his hand, then lifted the chain over her head and held the locket between them. Her fingers fumbled for the catch and she opened it wordlessly, turning it so he could see. She knew the pictures inside, every detail of them, and she closed her eyes and pictured them in her mind as Zhane pulled the locket from her grasp to get a closer look.

He gasped suddenly, and her eyes snapped open. He was staring at her in a way he hadn't been before, almost as if studying her, and she didn't know whether to be alarmed or touched.

"What?" she asked, when his eyes raked her face for a third time

"You." He let out a surprised laugh, smiling widely. He reached up and tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, then stepped back again, shaking his head in shock. "It's really you."

"I—what do you mean, Zhane?"

He held up the locket once more, turning the pictures to where she could see them. "This is yours?"

Mildly hurt by the question, she pulled the locket from his hand, and glared at him. "Of course it's mine! I've had it all my life!"

"...Then it's you. You're Karone."

Caught off guard, she was at a loss for words. Ecliptor had called her that not even a week ago, and now Zhane was as well. It had been _years_ since she'd gone by Karone. Ecliptor had stopped using it not long after Dark Spector had taken an interest in her, and she'd started her training as Astronema. It had been all she'd gone by since.

She realized suddenly that Zhane was still talking, and she shook her head at him. "What?"

"You *are* Karone, right?" Zhane asked her slowly.

She nodded silently, still half lost in thought.

"Do you know who are in those pictures?" He pointed at the locket, still gripped in her hand, and she slowly opened it once more, staring down at the faces staring back at her.

"They are my brothers," she replied, her voice soft.

"Do you remember their names?"

She frowned. She used to know them. Both of them. When had she forgotten? When had she let them go? When had they become merely pictures in a locket? She blinked rapidly as her eyes suddenly burned, and turned her head away from Zhane. "I don't remember..." she nearly sobbed out in frustration.

She let him pull her close, and took a deep breath as she leaned into him. She wouldn't cry again, she'd done enough of that already. And she'd been long done mourning her parents and brothers years ago, no need to start again. Not now.

When she pulled away finally, Zhane reached for the locket once more, and she relinquished it to him. He looked up at her as he tapped the picture on the left. "This is Joran, and this," he pointed to the younger boy on the other side, "is Andros."

Karone's eyes widened as everything clicked into place. ...Andros. That's why he'd seemed so familiar to her. It all made sense now. And Joran...she remembered him, vaguely. Something had happened to him when they were younger, before she'd been captured in the park. She frowned as she tried to remember, but the memory faded before she could grasp what had happened. She let out a sigh and looked back at Zhane. "I wish I could remember."

"You will," he told her, closing the locket and sliding it over her head. "It'll just take some time. And you've got Andros here, he'll help you to remember if you let him." He paused and smiled sadly. "He's been looking for you a long time. He really misses you."

The corners of her lips twitched as she thought about having one of her siblings back in her life again. A piece of her family, her past... And then she stopped, the barely-there smile fading as she looked at Zhane.

"He doesn't know..." she said slowly. She suddenly felt anxious and slightly horrified at the thought of what Andros's reaction might be.

Zhane must have seen it on her face, too. "Ast—Karone. ...Andros" he started, and then sighed. "He'll be thrilled that he's found you."

"But," she had to ask. "What will he think of me? I mean, I've been his enemy for...years." Her voice trailed off with the last word, and suddenly she couldn't look at Zhane anymore.

Zhane reached out and touch her chin lightly, and she slowly brought her eyes back to his. "What do you think of him?"

"I..." She frowned, thinking back to what she'd been told all her life. "The Red Ranger killed my brother," she uttered, reciting the words Ecliptor had ingrained in her, convinced her of, for so long. "I—I had always wondered...if that was true." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back at Zhane. "I've despised him, or the Red Ranger, anyway...for years, too. ...But I *believe* that he is my brother..."

She trailed off, and Zhane, who'd stayed quiet and let her talk up until now, finished for her. "Kinda makes everything else go away."

She smiled at him. "Yeah."

He smiled broadly and threw an arm over her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "And I bet he'll feel the same way. Come on," he continued, squeezing her again. "We'd better get to the work bay before Andros sends a search party."

She giggled as they started to walk and found herself idly playing with her locket as they separated and stepped onto the Megalift.

She felt something, a tingling sensation, at the back of her mind and her eyes were drawn to Zhane. He wasn't looking at her though, and seconds later, she felt the tingling again, stronger this time. She recognized the feeling, though she hadn't felt it in a long time. And when Zhane met her gaze once more, she was frowning at him.

"You have telepathy too?"

"Yeah." Zhane's brow furrowed. "I thought you knew..."

She shook her head. It wasn't a very common ability to have, especially for the colonists of KO-35. Only she and Andros of her siblings had inherited the trait from their Eltaran mother. Telepathy was pretty common on Eltar, and their mother had mastered the ability. It could be learned, though she knew it was extremely hard to grasp in most. Their father had tried, but always seemed to be more frustrated by it than anything else, so their mom only used it when he—and usually their older brother, who'd always felt left out when they used it—wasn't around.

"My grandfather was from Eltar, though he didn't use his telepathy much on KO-35. My parents didn't have the ability, but I picked it up at an early age." Zhane explained. "Andros was the first person I met other than my grandfather that had the ability. I remember the day I..." he suddenly trailed off.

Something in his voice made her frown and she, tentatively, reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. About the past, Andros, her family... Just as she'd got up the courage to say something, the megalift slowed to a stop. It would open onto the bridge, she knew, and she pulled her hand away before the lift doors opened. Just in case the rangers had changed their mind about their meeting place. It was just around the corner after all.

But no one was on the bridge. They could hear distant voices of discussion from the work bay and Karone knew that *their* discussion would have to be finished some other time. She glanced at him once more before he stepped off the lift. He was smiling reassuringly, but the lingering sadness?-pain?-she wasn't sure, was still there in his eyes.

She tucked her locket back under her shirt as she followed him off the bridge and into the work bay. She stopped in the doorway as Zhane walked over to the table in the middle of the room where Andros and Phantom were sitting. She looked around the room at the rest of the rangers. Cassie and Ashley were sitting by the jump tubes, while Carlos was leaning against the lockers and TJ stood idly by the table.

Ashley waved at her, catching her eye, and patted the platform beside her. She looked around at the others once more, none of whom were paying her any attention, and crossed the room.

She glanced over at Cassie as she reached the steps. She had her feet dangling off the platform, her arms crossed on the bar in front of her, chin resting on top of them. Though she looked as though she was hanging on every word the Phantom was saying, her eyes were far away. She frowned as she lowered herself onto the top step, and then realized belatedly that Ashley was watching her.

"I—is she okay?" She whispered quietly enough so only the yellow ranger would hear.

Ashley glanced sideways at her friend and then back—Cassie hadn't even noticed. She smiled sadly at Karone and wordlessly shifted her gaze across the room. Karone followed her gaze to the small table in the center of the room.

Phantom was still talking in low tones, while the other rangers listened intently. It took her a moment to catch exactly what Ashley was looking at, she didn't see it until Phantom stopped talking long enough for Andros to start. Staying morphed had it's advantages, the Phantom Ranger could be sleeping and you wouldn't know it, so long as he didn't snore or topple over. But Karone knew how to watch a ranger, and she didn't miss the slight turn of the helmet in Cassie's direction.

She glanced back and barely caught the pink ranger's grin as it faded. When she looked back, the Phantom was talking once more.

She frowned at Ashley. "They're together?"

Ashley shook her head. "Not exactly, no." She paused a moment. "They...well, Cassie's had a thing for him since we first met him."

"I didn't think he stayed anywhere for too long."

"No, he doesn't usually."

* * *

"Can we talk?"

Her voice was soft, but everyone heard it.

Their "meeting" had just finished—though she hadn't heard a word of it—and the others were filing out. She figured they were probably headed to the bridge to further plan and strategize, but she couldn't wait any longer. She saw him look to Andros and nod, and the guys headed on out. Ashley put a hand on her shoulder as she stood, giving it a reassuring squeeze, before she and Astra followed. "We'll be on the bridge," she said as they reached the entrance to the hallway.

Cassie knew that she'd said that for her benefit and her lips quirked in reply.

And then suddenly, he was looking at her and she didn't know what to say. After a moment, she dropped her gaze to the floor, staring at a point just past where Phantom stood.

"Cassie?" He stepped forward and put a hand on her arm.

She sighed and slowly pulled back, her eyes finding their way back to his—or at least, where they would have been, behind his visor. It would be easier if she were looking at a face instead of a helmet... She suppressed another sigh.

"It's been months..."

"I know," he said softly. She waited, but he didn't continue, just stood there, patiently waiting. Something in his calm stance and the way he looked at her made her suddenly snap, and she launched into everything she'd been thinking since his last message.

"It's been months and we haven't heard *anything* about where you've been, what you've been doing...!" She let out a breath and shook her head. "I don't even know what *I'm* doing! I don't even know your real name, or what you look like..." She looked back into his visor, trying to see the eyes she knew were looking into hers, and visibly deflated. "But you're all I think about. I—I just can't—" She turned away from him, and then blurted. "I'm sorry. It's just a stupid crush, and I shouldn't..." She trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Cass-"

She shrugged him off and turned around. "No. I'm just another Ranger to you, and I shouldn't complicate things when you don't even care!"

Even without being able to see his expression she saw his wince and instantly regretted her words.

"*Gods,* Cassie. ...I'm so sorry." He exhaled slowly and then timidly reached up to touch her face. The hurt in his voice made her let him, and she realized as he brushed at a tear with his glove, that she was crying. He tucked a small piece of hair behind her ear, and then pulled away. "I *do* care. ...And-"

Before either of them could say anything more, the ship shook violently under their feet, and Cassie was grabbing for Phantom's arm to steady herself. As soon as they regained their footing, they shot a glance at each other before sprinting toward the bridge. They'd have to continue this later, the Megaship was under attack.


	19. Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban! :D (It feels so awesome to say that.) So, wow hi! It's been forever since I've written much of anything and I've been stuck on this chapter for a very long time. Mostly because I didn't know where the rest of this was going to go. But thanks to my amazing friend, Tsukino Akume-who let me babble to her for _hours_ , I now know exactly how this part of the story is going to end. This fic has a few chapters more, and then I will start on a second part! Because I realized that it would be easier to just start anew once this arc is finished, and there is still so much that I have planned for this. But the rest of Behind the Mask is plotted and planned, and I will be working on the next chapter as soon as I get this one posted. So, hopefully more very soon. :D

Behind the Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 19: Unexpected

Karone followed the others onto the bridge, catching Zhane's sidelong glance and smiling in return. She wanted to go over to him, but Andros was relaying everything they'd missed from the meeting, and he was supposed to be paying attention. Plus she wasn't so sure how long she could hold her tongue around Andros... She'd longed for her family for so long that even waiting until they were done here seemed like forever.

...What were they doing anyway? How long would this take?

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask Ashley, when several things happened all at once. Red lights flashed all over the bridge, along with Deca's voice, warning them of something about a half second before the whole ship shuddered with the force of being blasted.

"Deca, evasive maneuvers!" her brother's voice ordered over the chaos, as he and the other Rangers rushed to their stations. Cassie brushed past her, and, looking back to see Phantom in the doorway, she remembered that they hadn't been on the bridge with them.

"The enemy ship is hailing," the computer's calm voice reported before Karone could wonder more about the relationship the pink ranger had with the Phantom Ranger.

"It's Shade," the yellow ranger called, as she turned to look at Andros. Her eyes then trailed to Karone's, and she was surprised when Andros turned a glance on her too. She blinked at him, wondering for a moment if he wanted her to leave. ...And if she wanted to leave.

"It's okay."

It was the only thing she could think of to say. Shade had gotten rid of the Dark Fortress because he knew she was there, and he'd been on her trail ever since, tracking her down to the Megaship. He was after her, and they all knew it.

Andros' gaze lingered on her momentarily. "If you're sure."

It was unspoken that they would protect her if it came down to it. But... "Do you want me to leave?"

"We don't have to answer," Zhane put in from behind Andros. "We can jump to hyperrush and try to lose him."

Ashley turned to look at the Silver Ranger. "But would that work? I thought his ship was just as sophisticated as the Megaship."

"Well, we think it is, but-"

"The Shadow Dweller is hailing again," DECA interrupted.

"Guys? We need to think of something fast. They're powering weapons," Cassie called over her shoulder.

"Lets try hyperrush," TJ suggested, in a way that Karone could tell he'd been a leader before. He threw a glance in Andros' direction. "If it doesn't work, then we're just back where we are now and we'll figure it out from there."

Movement from the back of the bridge caught her eye, and she noticed the Phantom stepping forward. "And if he's tired of trying to talk by then, you'll have lost your chance to see what he wants and probably end up worse off than you are now. Or will be."

Everyone looked at Andros. He glanced once more at her, and then turned back to the controls with a seriousness she'd known well of the Red Ranger. She knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"Alright, we're going to hyperrush. Let's get out of here."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when all the power on the ship went down. For a split second, it was completely dark on the bridge, until the backup power and lights came on.

Before anyone could even ask what had happened, the viewscreen came to life, Shade's face taking up the screen. "I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere."

"Oh _no_ , what could _possibly_ give you that idea? You're just the evil bad guy that blew up one of the two most powerful ships around, and have been tracking us for days. Couldn't _possibly_ see why we wouldn't want to stick around for tea," Zhane replied sarcastically.

"What do you want from us?" Ashley asked.

Shade was laughing as his eyes settled on her. "Well certainly not your ship! I have a better respect for it than the Dark Fortress." His gaze moved to Karone, and he glowered at her. "Astronema."

She glared right back.

"Give me Astronema and I will leave your ship in one piece," Shade continued.

"Not an option," Zhane replied.

"We're not gonna hand her over to you."

His eyes shifted to Andros, and a smirk lit up half his face. "Oh I think I have something you might want, Red Ranger." At his words the viewscreen shifted. It was now showing two people, a man and woman, in a cell behind Shade. Karone didn't know who they were, but Andros seemed to recognize them.

There was a look of shock and horror on his face. "Take me," he told him. "Instead of Astronema. I'm just as valuable to you."

Shade stepped back in front of the screen. He looked as if he were thinking about Andros' offer. Then finally, he smirked again. "Fine. You come to my ship and I'll let *one* of them go."

There was a pause, and everyone looked at Andros. He straightened and she was sure he was glaring defiantly. "Deal."

"No!" Her voice wasn't the only one that rang out on the bridge, but it was the loudest. She ignored the look Andros was giving her and addressed the screen in front of them. "What about the other one?"

"Astra—"

"The other one stays," Shade's voice overrode Andros'. "Unless, of course, you come instead of this lousy excuse for a Ranger."

"Not happening," Andros ground out before she could respond. He sounded livid, and Karone figured it was best not to say anything else. "We'll make the exchange in ten minutes!" Hitting the panel in front of him, he effectively ended the transmission and turned a glare on her.

Taken aback, she merely stared back at him.

"Andros."

Zhane put a hand on his shoulder from behind, but he shrugged it off and continued glaring at Karone. "Don't you get it? We're trying to _help_ you! What good is it going to do if you go back over there? You know what he'll do to you."

She bristled a little at his words. "I just want to help-"

"This _doesn't_ concern you!"

"Andros."

Zhane's voice was louder, and mildly threatening this time.

Throwing a glare over his shoulder and then back to her, Andros stormed off the bridge without another word.

* * *

The exchange had gone over probably worse than it could have. Shade had honored his agreement of only releasing one of the prisoners, but neither the one that was released nor Andros agreed with Shade's decision of which one he released.

Astra had tried to go as well, but Andros wouldn't let her, no matter how much he'd protested Shade keeping the woman and letting her companion go.

Cassie had never seen their leader like this before. He was usually smarter than just wildly jumping into things without a plan. Zhane had been the only one he would listen to, and had even given TJ the eye when he tried to stop Andros from jumping into this rashly.

It was only moments after the trade that she and the others understood why...

* * *

"Kieran."

Zhane's voice made the man look up. The guilt in his eyes faded a little as he smiled warmly at him, and in two strides, he was pulling him into a tight hug. "Zhane."

When the two had separated, the older man looked around at them all and then back at Zhane. "I thought— You...you have a full team now?"

"Zhane?" TJ was frowning. His question was obvious, and his eyes trailed to Kieran's.

"Oh, my apologies," the man said, stepping forward. "My name is Kieran. We—my companion and I—are from KO-35."

"Kieran was one of the colonists that escaped KO-35 before the final attacks," Zhane explained. His eyes swept the room, looking at each of them, and finally, settling on Karone, he continued. "Kieran is...Andros's father."


	20. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer/Author Note: OMG I finally finished this! *cheers* I had about ¾ of it written shortly after I posted the last chapter, and then my laptop crashed and I lost most of it. I was so upset with it, I just decided to take a break from it for a while, before I rewrote and finished it up. Sorry for the long wait, I wasn't intending to take this long. Saban owns the Rangers.

Behind the Mask  
by Starlit Purple

Chapter 20: Reunions

"Wait, what?"

"That's Andros's- You're..."

"His...father?"

The Rangers' surprise and shock were nothing compared to her own. Karone was looking at the man in front of them in a completely different light now. Up until just minutes ago, her parents were dead. Ecliptor had told her that they'd died in the battle on KO-35, that the red ranger had killed her family. She'd known for a while that he _hadn't_ done all those things, but the thought that her parents might be alive hadn't hit her at all.

She hadn't caught the rest of what the Rangers had said, or what Kieran, Andros's father— _her_ father _—_ was saying to them now. She pulled away when arms suddenly closed around her, and found herself staring at Zhane questioningly.

"You're crying," he whispered softly as he reached up to brush a tear from her cheek.

"I-I am?"

"Astra?" The yellow ranger waited until she looked up, and then frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I..."

Everyone was looking at her now and she wasn't sure what to say. Her eyes trailed to Zhane, and then past him to her father.

The man was looking her over now, as if trying to place her. For a fleeting moment, Karone thought that he knew, that somehow he knew she was his daughter. But then he stiffened and those kind eyes hardened to an icy glare, and she knew he'd recognized her, but not as family.

" _Astronema_."

Her eyes fell to the floor in front of her. She couldn't deny it—there was nothing she _could_ say. How could she tell him now?

"Why is she here?" His words pierced her more than she expected them too, and she turned slightly away from all of them as Zhane turned to answer.

"She's..." She could hear him sigh. "She _was_ Astronema, but...she's not evil anymore."

"She's helped us a lot."

TJ's words made her turn. She reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, and, as her fingers brushed against her face, she realized she _had_ been crying.

Zhane glanced back at her as she attempted to discretely brush away her tears, and she moved toward him and took his hand when he reached out to her. Zhane would tell him—would tell them all, but...a part of her wanted to do this herself. She wanted to be the one to say it, to say that she was— _is_ Karone...even if it meant no one would look at her the same way again.

"Astra?" Ashley's concerned voice again.

"I..." Her voice cracked and she swallowed.

Zhane squeezed her fingers reassuringly. *Do you want me to?*

She shook her head before she realized he was using telepathy, and the realization made her pause. That was the first time in years that anyone had spoke to her that way. But she couldn't think about that now.

*It's okay,* she replied without looking at him. Instead her eyes sought out Ashley's, who was still waiting on her reply. "I-I'm not Astra. ...And I," her eyes moved to Kieran's, "I _was_ Astronema, yes. But..."

She couldn't find the words to continue, and, letting Zhane's hand go, she fumbled for the locket, tugging gently on the chain until it was free of her shirt. She held it for a moment, before pulling it over her head and stepping forward to hand it to Kieran.

He frowned, taking it from her cautiously. He wouldn't recognize the locket by now. It didn't look the way it had on the outside as when he and her mother had given them to them. The confused look on his face mirrored her thoughts as he looked it over.

His fingers found the catch and he flipped it open. Confusion turned to recognition and then anger as he stared back up at her.

"Wha—what is this?"

"It's-"

He cut her off, incredulous. "What do you think giving this to me would achieve? A reminder of...of..."

"It's mine," she told him calmly, when he couldn't find the words to continue. "It's always been mine. ...Ever since you gave it to me."

Kieran shook his head in disbelief. "This—this is...yours?" His voice was softer now, the bitterness replaced with hope. At her slow nod, he moved forward, frowning as he studied her face more closely. Slowly, he raised his hand to touch her cheek, and his, now shining, eyes went wide with recognition.

"Karone."

Karone merely smiled in response. Apparently this was all the proof Kieran needed. Wordlessly, he wrapped her in a hug.

* * *

Ashley's eyes went wide at Kieran's revelation and she looked around at her teammates to see equal reactions of surprise. Except for Zhane. He was smiling at the two as they embraced in front of them all.

The shocked silence wore off before she could think any more about it, though.

"You're Karone."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Karone nodded to TJ as her father drew away. "Yes."

"And you knew?" Carlos asked, directing his question at the silver ranger. ...Apparently she hadn't been the only one to notice Zhane's reaction.

Zhane smiled ruefully. "I've only known for a couple of hours. I figured it out when we were on our way to the work bay earlier, just after Phantom arrived."

Ashley frowned. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Karone sighed, wincing slightly and looking regretful. "I was going to, but Zhane thought that I should wait until after the Phantom Ranger's briefing. And then we were attacked, and...there just wasn't time," she finished awkwardly.

With a small smile for his daughter, Kieran handed Karone her locket back. She passed it over to Ashley wordlessly.

Slowly, Ashley reached out and grasped the necklace, letting the chain fall between her fingers as she analyzed the locket's casing. She'd seen it so many times adorning Astronema's neck, her symbol displayed prominently on the front...but she'd never given it any thought before.

Her fingers slid along the edge of the casing until they found the small catch and flipped the locket open. She blinked in confusion at the pictures inside. She was expecting to see a duplicate of the pictures in Andros' locket. Pictures of a young girl and stripey-haired boy.

Instead though, there were two very similar looking boys staring back at her. One was clearly a bit younger than the other, lighter blond stripes to his older brother's darker tones. She recognized the older one from Andros's locket. She'd always thought that that picture was of him, but now she could tell that the younger one was Andros. Meaning that the boy in Andros's locket...

She looked back up at Karone, frowning. "Who is this?" She felt more than heard the others move in closer around her so they could see. She didn't know if they'd seen the pictures in Andros' locket, but they'd all known about his sister and the reason his locket was important to him. Although she'd never heard him mention anyone other than Karone...

"Joran. My brother," Karone replied, though she was looking at Zhane as she spoke. "At least, that's what Zhane told me... I don't remember very well."

"Yes," Kieran spoke up from behind her. "Joran, your older brother, and Andros." He paused, smiling sadly. "You meant a lot to them—to all of us. After you were taken...Joran, he couldn't take it, he ran off, and I don't think Andros ever forgave himself for not being able to protect you."

"He didn't," Ashley uttered softly, idly brushing her thumb over his picture. Her eyes trailed to Zhane's when she realized he'd said the same thing.

"And now he's over there..." Karone let the thought trail off, unfinished, before she sighed. "I should have told him."

Zhane moved forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "We didn't know this was going to happen. And besides, Andros is tough, he won't go down without a fight."

"We'll get them back."

TJ's voice held all the confidence Ashley wasn't feeling, but it made her smile nonetheless.

"We will," she agreed.

* * *

Andros threw his hands out in front of him as he was shoved forward into a dark cell. He found his footing before he completely lost his balance though, and turned just as the door was being pushed closed.

"That'll be all," he heard Shade telling his minions. "I'll handle him from here."

A quick scan of his cell showed no signs of his mother that he could see. It was really dark, but he was mostly certain no one else was in there with him. He glared through the bars at his captor. "Where is she?"

He could see the same dark glower reflected back at him behind Shade's half-covered face. Shade didn't reply, but looked over his shoulder. As if on cue, two of his Stalkers walked into view, holding his mother between them.

"Andros!" she called as soon as she caught sight of him.

"Mom!"

Andros struggled at the bars helplessly as Shade walked over to her. He leaned forward and said something Andros couldn't hear, then, as her eyes widened and she looked about to say something, he put a hand over her mouth harshly and whispered something more.

Her eyes darted to Shade and then to Andros, then she closed them and nodded. Shade let her go and turned once more to Andros.

"Throw her in with him!" he ordered his minions. "I'll deal with the Ranger tomorrow."

The Stalkers opened the cell once more, pushing his mother into him before closing it again. With one last glare for Andros, Shade turned and followed his Stalkers down the hall and out of sight.

"Are you alright?" Andros asked worriedly as he steadied her, even as he was mentally checking her over.

She nodded and hugged him, hard. "I'm alright."

Her voice sounded a little breathy, and when she pulled back and put her hands on his face, he could see the tears in her eyes. She smiled sadly as she studied his face, lightly touching his cheek.

"Oh, my Andros, you've grown so much," she sighed wistfully, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked into his. "How've you been? We haven't heard any news since KO-35 was evacuated. Where did you go? You must tell me everything."

Andros had to fight to control the flood of emotions hitting him. He hadn't thought about being reunited with his mother beforehand, only that he would do whatever it took to save his parents. He blinked rapidly as he pulled his mother close again.

"There'll be time for that later," he told her gently as he released her. "Right now, we've got to figure out a way out of here. I know a bit of the layout of the ship, maybe if we compile our knowledge we can figure out an escape plan."

His mother merely smiled. "Ever the Ranger. I've missed you, Andros."

"I missed you too."


End file.
